West Conf. Semis - Game 3: Golden State Warriors 100-119 New Orleans Pelicans - 5 Talking Points

So a majority thought this West. Conference Semifinals series was over after the first two games in Oakland but the New Orleans Pelicans took care of that chatter with a dominant Game 3 performance, winning by 19 points.

They took control of the game in the first quarter of both halves, outscoring the Golden State Warriors 30-21 in the first quarter and 30-19 in the third quarter. The Pelicans were in their element, shooting 50.0% from the field and 45.2% from beyond the arc. Not to mention, assisting on 75% of their field goals (36-of-48).

This would be a huge win for the Pelicans' roster, who believed they should have won Game 2. It's also a huge bounce-back for the franchise from that sweep this team suffered at the hands of the Warriors in the first round of the 2015 postseason.

Anyways, that was three years back. It's time to break down and discuss the 5 biggest takeaways from Game 3:

#5 Ian Clark ensures Pelicans' bench provides a short but efficient spark

#2 Ian Clark

So we mentioned the Pelicans' bench in our breakdown of Game 2 and how they weren't really providing their team any lift. Well, that changed in Game 3 at home.

As a whole, they didn't play a lot of minutes but what they did, it was uber-efficient. The bench mob was led by Ian Clark, who put up 18 points in 22 minutes on 7-of-11 shooting including 3-of-5 on 3s. He also had one rebound, one assist and one block to show off on his box score.

Even though this game was a blowout, only Solomon Hill, and Darius Miller played appreciable minutes (14) off the bench. The duo combined for 14 points on 50% shooting from the field and from long range. The starters were playing well, which probably reduced the pressure on the reserves but either way, it's highly unlikely that this performance would carry on to Game 4, let alone for the rest of the series or rest of the Playoffs.

#4 Nikola Mirotic makes his presence felt

Nikola Mirotic

Nikola Mirotic arriving from Chicago via a trade was a huge reason why the Pelicans were able to not only stay afloat but jump few teams in the Playoff race after DeMarcus Cousins got injured

His range as a stretch 4 allows Anthony Davis to play more freely as a center and also gives him more room to operate with. Mirotic was an underrated factor to the team's first-round sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers but in this series, he was going to go up against reigning Finals MVP Kevin Durant.

In the first two games, he combined for 27 points and 17 rebounds on 10-of-25 shooting from the field and 4-of-12 from 3-point range. In Game 3, he was much more efficient and more of a factor on the glass, a well-known weakness of the Warriors. He had 13 rebounds in Game 3 to go with his 16 points on a great efficiency of 50% (6-of-12) from the field and 60% (3-of-5) beyond the arc.

Mirotic knocking down shots forced the Warriors to react, which in turn, opened up other scoring opportunities for his teammates. His impact in this game is also quite evident from the his +/-. In Game 3, he was +14, whereas in Games 1 & 2, he was a -9.

#3 Does sub-par Draymond Green mean a sub-par Warriors?

Draymond Green

In Game 3, Draymond Green, like he did in Games 1 & 2, put up a triple-double type stat line once again but there were other key stats on the box score that fell off.

Coming into Game 3, he was shooting 12-of-20 (60.0%) from the field and 3-of-7 (42.8%) from 3 while averaging only 2 turnovers per game. On Friday night, however, he turned the ball over 7 times and shot 3-of-8 from the field and was a team-low -25 in 36 minutes. In addition, he had 0 stocks (steals + blocks) in Game 3. He recorded 5 and 3 in Games 1 & 2 respectively.

The Warriors rely a lot on Green to run plays or get the ball up the floor of a made basket or throw it ahead off a miss. That's difficult to do when he's turning the ball over 7 times to a team that loves to run. Now, he isn't the only reason the Warriors lost Game 3 but his below-par performances have often led to losses.

#2 Cold shooting night for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson

Kevin Durant

Despite this All-Star trio being predominantly a jump-shooting one, any game where they shoot lesser than 50% from the field or from 3-point range is considered bad. And Game 3 was BAD.

The trio combined for 67 points, which is not bad but let's just say they have had better nights. Stephen Curry had 19 of those while shooting 6-of-19 (31.6%) from the field and 3-of-9 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. He did try to do a little bit of everything with his 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists but he only played 29 minutes (mostly precautionary) and committed 3 turnovers.

Klay Thompson top-scored for Golden State with 26, 20 of which came in the second quarter, but his shooting numbers for the game were not up to his standard as well - 9-of-22 (40.9%) from the field and 3-of-9 (33.3%) on 3s

Kevin Durant was worse. He did get to 22 points but on 8-of-18 (44.4%) shooting and a miserable 1-of-6 (16.7%) from long distance. He normally is quite active on the glass but today, he only had 3 rebounds.

It's one thing for Draymond Green to commit 7 turnovers but when he does pass it on-point, one of these guys have to make shots consistently to win.

#1 Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo were too much

Golden State Warriors v New Orleans Pelicans - Game Three

Anthony Davis in Game 3: - 33 points, 18 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists on 15-of-27 shooting

Rajon Rondo in Game 3: 4 points, 10 rebounds, 21 assists

Right since the Golden State Warriors began dominating the league (2014-15), a quite renowned weakness of theirs was been rebounding. They struggle against athletic and versatile bigs because they don't have anybody to guard him. Draymond Green is too small and their other big men are too slow.

Davis started this game slowly but eventually finished with a monster stat line. It's quite obvious that the Warriors' scouting report and schemes for each game begin with Davis and yet he erupted for a huge night.

This an ideal roster for Rondo. He has five possible shooters on the team - Mirotic, Solomon Hill, Clark, Jrue Holiday and E'Tawn Moore. What trumps all of his option is Davis running down the floor, virtually unguarded every time.

The 2008 NBA Champion wrecked havoc on the court, dishing out the ball to the right player at the right time, ending up with just 3 turnovers in 37 minutes. He also joined the likes of Magic Johnson and John Stockton to be the only three players to record multiple 20-assist games in Playoff history.