The short-handed Golden State Warriors didn't have enough firepower to hang with the Toronto Raptors in Game 3, falling 123-109 at Oracle Arena.
Following a poor Game 2 outing, the Raptors got it going in the Bay, knocking down 17-of-38 from the thee-point line, with Danny Green, Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet combining to shoot 14-of-25 themselves.
The Raptors take Game 3!
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2019
Toronto scored 123 points, the most the Warriors have allowed at home in the NBA Finals under Steve Kerr.
The Raptors also got 106 points from their Starting 5, the most in any playoff game in their franchise history. pic.twitter.com/UWKgCZPZbz
Despite a playoff career-high 47 points from Steph Curry, the Warriors just didn't have any answers on the defensive end, with the Raptors' 123 points the most they've have allowed on their home court in the NBA Finals in the Steve Kerr era.
While Toronto knocked down plenty of tough shots, they were able to generate a ton of open looks on the perimeter, relishing in the absence of Klay Thompson, who missed Game 3 with a hamstring injury.
"Klay's an all-league defender in my opinion, top 10 defender in the league and one of the purest scorers in the league," Warriors centre Andrew Bogut said post-game. "So I think you take him away from any team you're going to struggle.
"We miss Klay a lot, especially defensively. People will look at the scoring he can give us but tonight defensively we really missed him.
"I think he's one of the best defenders in the league, especially out on the perimeter and now all of a sudden you've got Draymond [Green] guarding Kawhi [Leonard] more than he normally would, Andre [Iguodala] as well and then you put a lot of pressure on Quinn [Cook] and other guys to come off the bench and play just as well. Hopefully we'll get him back and win Game 4."
“Hopefully we can get Klay back and win Game 4.”
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) June 6, 2019
Andrew Bogut discusses what the Warriors missed most about not having Klay Thompson in the lineup.” pic.twitter.com/6eGU7T6eHJ
Curry did his best to keep the Warriors afloat, scoring 17 of his 47 points in the first quarter. He finished the game shooting 14-of-31 from the field and 6-of-14 from the three-point line, but the Warriors only had two other players score in double figures as they fell short on their home floor.
The Raptors are the 3rd team in Finals history to shoot 50% from the field, 40% from three and 90% from the free throw line, joining the Warriors in 2017 and the Celtics in 1986. pic.twitter.com/fQEVeWrMsk
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2019
Despite his impressive night scoring the ball, Curry implored his team to re-discover their rhythm on defence as they look to level the series in Game 4.
“We can’t fall into the trap of thinking offence alone is going to win us another championship or letting that end of the floor affect our defence," Curry said post game. 'That'll be the biggest adjustment for us in Game 4."
