For the first time in a long time, the Golden State Warriors had their backs up against the wall. Coming home to the Chase Center for Game 3 of their NBA playoff series against the Sacramento Kings, Golden State was facing a 2-0 series deficit.
It isn’t a situation that they are used to finding themselves in, as they have won at least one road game in every playoff series under Steve Kerr. To make matters worse, the Warriors were going to have to play Game 3 without Draymond Green.
Green was suspended because of an incident in Game 2 with Domantas Sabonis. Sabonis grabbed Green’s foot/ankle when falling to the floor in the fourth quarter. In retaliation, after shaking his foot loose, Green stomped on Sabonis’ chest. He was suspended one game for a history of unsportsmanlike acts.
“Our guys were locked in yesterday when the news came in and we turned the page pretty quickly,” Kerr said. “There’s no need to belabor the point. It’s just the league made the decision. You only have one path to take, and that’s getting ready for the next one, and that’s what our guys did.”
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It was a decision that galvanized the entire roster. As Stephen Curry put it, not only did the team want to win for him, but they knew that Game 3 was a must-win contest. No team wants to fall down 3-0 in a series.
“Understanding how bad of a decision I think the league made on suspending him, you’re frustrated with that,” Curry said. “We have a job to do and there’s nothing we can do about it. … We obviously understand the consequences of if we lost tonight, and nobody wanted to feel that.
“Pretty bluntly, if we lost this game it would be pretty much over. You’ve got to understand the moment and we gave ourselves life.”
Curry had another strong game, scoring 36 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in 37 minutes. But, for them to come out victorious as they did with a 114-97 win, other players needed to step up.
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Filling the void left by Green isn’t easy, but it was Kevon Looney who was up to the task. Looney played a staring role and drew praise from his teammates, namely Curry who spoke very highly of him after the game.
“He’s relentless,” Curry said of Looney. “He knows how to be effective when he’s out there. He’s shown it plenty of times before and it was huge. … Offensive rebounds are usually, once you get the possession, there’s going to be somebody open because everybody is kind of scattered. It’s just a great look for us to create good offense and then a second chance, everybody is kind of in rhythm and you’re stepping in. It’s like what the game kind of calls for, and you knock them down.”
Green plays a key role on offense as the Warriors’ main facilitator. Without him, it was Looney who assumed that role, handing out nine assists. Golden State was a perfect 9-for-9 on his passes for 23 points.
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Looney made another major impact offensively by grabbing nine offensive rebounds, which was half of the team’s total. He kept possessions alive with his activity and controlled the paint, grabbing 20 rebounds overall.
Winning games in the NBA Playoffs isn’t easy and it is even tougher when doing it shorthanded. But the Warriors have gotten some momentum back in the series and Looney was a big reason why. He and his teammates will look to replicate that performance on Sunday afternoon in Game 4.
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