The Golden State Warriors take a commanding 3-0 series lead after a thrilling 110-99 win over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 3.
Trailing by 13 points at the half, the Dubs dominated the second half, outscoring the Blazers 57-33.
Steph Curry once again led the way with 36 points, while an energetic Draymond Green finished with a 20-point, 13-rebound, 12-assist triple-double.
The Blazers now have an uphill battle on their hands, with no team in NBA history ever coming back from 3-0 down.
Here's four key takeaways from tonight's action:
Dubs take over third quarter
How many times have we seen this before?
In trademark style, the Warriors used a monster third-quarter run to get back into the game after trailing by 13 points at half-time, to take a three-point lead heading into the fourth.
The Warriors came downhill in the third, closing the quarter on a 22-6 run as they outscored the Blazers 29-13 in the period.
Draymond Green sparks the @warriors 22-6 run to end Q3!#StrengthInNumbers #NBAPlayoffs @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/CVR76AJ74L
— NBA (@NBA) May 19, 2019
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson found their groove, combining for 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting, outscoring the Blazers by themselves, but it was the energy of Draymond Green on the defensive which brought the Warriors to life.
Green set the tone defensively in the period as the Warriors held CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard to a combined 3-of-10 shooting.
Draymond takes the reigns
Every time the Warriors were in a bind, Draymond Green found an answer on both sides of the floor.
The Warriors forward was everywhere on defence, contesting shots, fighting for loose balls and generating multiple transition opportunities with his active hands.
With Kevin Durant not playing, Green becomes so valuable for the Warriors, especially with the extra defensive attention paid to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Green's energy and motor were infectious in Game 3 as he continually pushed the pace and found ways to either set his teammates up or score at the rim himself.
In the crucial third quarter run, Green did all the dirty work as Curry and Thompson filled it up.
Draymond Green absolutely dominated the third quarter despite taking only one shot. Had 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and was plus-16.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 19, 2019
He finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, his third triple-double of the post-season (all coming on the road) and his seventh career playoff triple-double.
Dray pushin' the pace 💥
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) May 19, 2019
📺 @espn pic.twitter.com/ynuveRnILu
Green joins Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson (four times), Rajon Rondo and LeBron James as the fifth player in NBA history to record a triple-double in at least three straight playoff series in a single postseason.
Meyers' big moment
Trailing 2-0 in the series, Trail Blazers' head coach Terry Stotts felt they needed a change. He elected to slide Meyers Leonard into the starting lineup in place of a more defensively-challenged Enes Kanter in an effort to step up their pick-and-roll defence on the Warriors' Splash Brothers.
Not only did the switch work on the defenisve end, but it made a significant impact on the entire first half for Portland.
Leonard was their best player through two quarters, finishing with a team-high 13 points shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 2-for-4 from long range. He only had one rebound but dished out two assists, doing a great job of moving the ball when he got touches in the high post.
Unfortunately for Leonard and the Blazers, his second half was a different story due to foul trouble. The Blazers' big man had three fouls going into the half and picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter, forcing him to play more reserved on D.
Foul trouble also took him out of his rhythm on the offensive end, finishing with just three points in the second half for a total of 16 points for the game.
Dame's disappearance
It has been a Conference Finals to forget for the Blazers' star guard Damian Lillard. Going into this contest, he was 10-for-28 (35.7%) from the field with nine turnovers.
That trend continued in Game 3.
He went 5-for-18 from the field and 3-for-9 from beyond the arc for a total of 19 points with five turnovers.
For those counting back home, Lillard has 15 made field goals and 14 turnovers in this series – not exactly ideal from your team's best player.
Lillard looked flat in this contest from the start. It was clear he was frustrated by the Warriors' double teams and couldn't figure out a way to score or contribute around them. Anytime he tried to work in the pick-and-roll, the Warriors doubled him. Anytime he got past his primary defender, the entire defence was collapsing on him to make things difficult.
He couldn't get off a clean shot all game long and whenever he did come across a decent look at the rim, he was off the mark.
Lillard is now 15-for-46 (32.6%) from the field in this series. Whether it's fatigue, frustration, great defence or a combination of all the aforementioned, the Blazers will need a complete 180 and then some from their All-Star guard if they're going to have any chance at rattling off four consecutive wins against the defending champions.