GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS VS HOUSTON ROCKETS
1.72
TOTAL POINTS (INCL OVERTIME) - OVER 198.5
The experienced Golden State Warriors are up two to one in the series with the young Houston Rockets. Heading into game four, the Warriors do not know if Jimmy Butler will be available tonight. Butler will be a game-time decision.
The Warriors won game three at the Chase Center in San Francisco by 104-93. Four of the five starters had 26 points between themselves: Jonathan Kuminga (7), Draymond Green (7), Quentin Post (2), and Brandin Podziemski (10). The heart and soul of the Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry, scored 36 points. Curry made 12 out of his 23 attempted shots. Steph made five of 13 shots from beyond the arc.
Curry also grabbed seven rebounds, made nine dimes, had one block and two steals. All of the burden was on Steph Curry’s shoulders since Jimmy Butler was not available for the third game of the series. Steph was a plus 18 in the game three win. Golden State’s head coach spoke to nba.com and said the following about Curry: “That is what Superstars do in playoff games. Superstars give the whole team confidence. And that is what Steph does.”
Gary Payton II had an inspired performance in the third game of the series. Payton took nine shots in 21 minutes of playing time. Gary made seven of them. Two of them were from downtown and he scored 16 points. A lot has been made of the steal Steven Adams had on Buddy Hield and less about what a great game Hield had. Buddy scored 17 points. The shooting guard made five out of his eleven shots from behind the arc. Buddy Hield had a plus 14 which was second best on the Warriors. He also had three steals, two boards, and two dimes. The Golden State bench outscored the Rockets bench, 42-20.
The Rockets need the win badly tonight. They cannot go back to Houston being down 1-3 in the series. To win three straight games at that potential point is very hard to do in the NBA Playoffs. So this will be a true test of character for this young team led by their head coach, Ime Udoka. For the Rockets to win this one their shooting must be more accurate and efficient in game four than in the prior game. Fred VanVleet, the veteran point guard, was best on the Houston Rockets with 17 points. Fred made three out of his nine shots from downtown. Dillon Brooks made three out of four and Jabari Smith Jr three out of five. The Rockets made eleven shots from behind the arc to 14 for Golden State.
The two young stars and leading players for the Rockets have, and must, step up in the fourth game of the series. Otherwise it will be over sooner rather than later. Both Green and Sengun spent too much time arguing with Draymond Green in game three, just as Draymond wanted. These two need to be fully locked in tonight if the Rockets are serious about coming home to Texas with a tied series.
It all starts with making life a bit difficult for Steph Curry on the defensive end of the floor for the Houston Rockets. Fred VanVleet told nba.com how to do it: “He is one of the all-time greats. Our coverage was a bit slow in game three. We must switch up the physicality.” One thing is for sure, it will get physical in San Francisco tonight. Let’s see whether referees have swallowed their whistles or not.
