The Golden State Warriors season has been nothing short of incredible, and Game 3 was easily their most incredible moment yet as they rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans, 123-119, in an overtime thriller for the ages.
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The Warriors got off to an extremely fast start in the first quarter as they made their first five three-pointers, but they cooled off after that as the Pelicans heated up.
The Pelicans took their momentum into the second quarter and started it with a 13-0 run, and they continued to outplay the Warriors in the second quarter as they took what seemed like a comfortable lead at halftime.
The third quarter was similar, as the Pelicans were up by 20 points at the end of it. The Warriors began to show signs of life in the fourth quarter though.
They trimmed the Pelicans’ lead to 10 points with just over three minutes left in regulation, and they went on a 7-0 run after that.
Warriors reserve point guard Shaun Livingston made a free throw to trim the Pelicans’ lead to three points. With 17 seconds left, Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday made two free throws that seemingly sealed the game.
However, Warriors point guard Stephen Curry kept the game alive with a three-pointer.
Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis missed one of his free throws after getting fouled, which opened the door for the Warriors to tie the game and send it to overtime.
Curry did exactly that and showed why he is the MVP frontrunner. He sunk an improbable three-pointer with two seconds left.
He made another three-pointer to get the ball rolling in overtime before small forward Harrison Barnes made one of his own.
Power forward Draymond Green showed his toughness by driving to the basket and making a shot before drawing a foul for a three-point play.
After the Warriors took a six-point lead in overtime, the Pelicans still refused to keel over and let themselves continue to melt down.
Guard Tyreke Evans scored two points before power forward Ryan Anderson made a three-pointer to make it a one-point game.
The Pelicans were unable to score after that though, and Curry drew the foul before making two free throws with 13 seconds remaining.
Davis made a free throw after an off the ball foul by Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, but Curry drew another foul to seal the win for the Warriors.
This incredible 20-point rally in the fourth quarter marked the fourth-best comeback in NBA playoff history.
Curry put on the best performance of his career as he continually came through in the clutch and made the biggest play of the 2015 NBA playoffs. He scored 40 points with five rebounds and nine assists while shooting 7-for-18 from the three-point line.
Thompson added 28 points with six rebounds and two assists while making 6-of-12 of his three-pointers. Power forward Draymond Green played an aggressive game and finished with 12 points with 17 rebounds.
Davis’ missed free throw turned out to be costly for the Pelicans, but he had an otherwise fantastic performance with 29 points and 15 rebounds.
Anderson also stepped up for the Pelicans by scoring 26 points while grabbing five rebounds. Evans chipped in 18 points with four rebounds and eight assists.
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