The Golden State Warriors breathe a sigh of relief. Stephen Curry (36 points, 12 of 25 on shots and 6 of 12 on triples) was in charge of leading his team’s victory over the Sacramento Kings (114-97) to close the gap in the series (2-1). Without the suspended Draymond Green for his stomp on Domantas Sabonis in the second game, Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Kevon Looney (20 rebounds and 9 assists) accompanied the point guard.
The Warriors, who in the Curry era had never been down 2-0 in a series, took control of the game from the start and held their ground until the final whistle. Sacramento, however, offered an unknown image and far removed from the explosiveness it had shown up to now.
Mike Brown’s team was not successful from the line of three (11 of 46) and also clearly lost the battle for the rebound (59 vs. 70). De’Aaron Fox was close to a triple-double (26 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists) with 9 of 22 shooting (3 of 9 on 3-pointers). For his part, Sabonis contributed 15 points and 16 rebounds.
The fourth duel of this series between the Warriors and the Kings will also be played on Sunday in San Francisco (USA) and with Green back in Golden State.
The Philadelphia 76ers for their part, left the series on track (3-0) after beating the Brooklyn Nets 97-102. The Sixers are just one win away from sealing their place in the next round, in which they will face either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks. In addition, to the peace of mind of Doc Rivers’ team, no team has managed to come back from a series in which they were losing 3-0.
In a game marred by controversy, Joel Embiid received a flagrant type 1 for kicking Nic Claxton and James Harden was sent off for a low ball on Royce O’Neale. Decisive game for the Nets, who were up five points two minutes from time, but saw a great performance from Tyrese Maxey and an impressive block from Embiid deprive them of victory.
Maxey scored 25 points (10 of 17 shooting and 5 triples), while Embiid, despite being decisive in the final moments of the game, had the second worst scoring night of his season, with just 14 points. Harden, ejected in the third quarter, finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Without Kawhi Leonard due to a right knee injury, the Los Angeles Clippers lost this Thursday against the Phoenix Suns in the third game of their series (124-129) and lost the home court factor (1-2). The impressive performance of Devin Booker (45 points, 18 of 29 shooting and 7 rebounds) prevented the Clippers, led by Norman Powell (42 points and 15 of 23 shooting), from giving the bell.
Without their two stars on the court, Tyronn Lue’s team put in a strong performance that, despite a fantastic version from Russell Westbrook (30 points, 8 rebounds and 11 assists), was not enough to defeat the Suns.
The locals made 54.2% of their field goals, but lost 18 balls, did not control the rebound (46 of 55) and only had 19 of 25 free throws compared to 35 of 46 for their rivals. Kevin Durant contributed 28 points and 6 rebounds. The fourth game of this tie will be played on Saturday also in Los Angeles.
