Popovich: Leonard 'likely out' for Spurs in Game 4
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — May 23, 2017
Stephen Curry contributed 21 points, and the Warriors had, remarkably, six players in double figures for the contest.
Will the Golden State Warriors continue their dominance of the San Antonio Spurs when they meet up in Game 4 tonight at 9PM ET?
Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, center, is tied up by San Antonio Spurs forward Danny Green, left, as Spurs guard Dejounte Murray (5) watches during the first half of Game 3 of of the Western Conference finals on.
And true to form, San Antonio missed him.
This win gives the Warriors a 3-0 lead in the Finals of the Western Conference as they look to reclaim the National Basketball Association title that they lost to Lebron James led Cleveland Cavaliers last season.
The most surprising element of this game was Golden State's abnormally poor defensive effort.
The Warriors established themselves by winning a championship in 2015, but because they go through San Antonio there remained some uncertainty as to whether they were superior to the Spurs.
This series will probably conclude on Monday night, but the Spurs put up a commendable fight after being shellacked in Game 2. [Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images] Gregg Popovich is certainly one of the best coaches in the game and made some shifts to keep the Spurs in the match, but the injuries to these key players quickly caught up to San Antonio on the court. "That didn't happen. It's called life. Slap yourself, quit your crying and move on".
He's right, of course.
Leonard aggravated the ankle injury when he landed on Warriors center Zaza Pachulia's foot after taking a jump shot early in the third quarter of Game 1 on May 14. They swept the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz in the first two round and will have the opportunity to close out the Spurs on Monday en route a possible finals rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They knew this team, at their best, had a chance to upset the Warriors in this series.
"The third quarter, I just went out there and played, not worrying about anything", Durant said.
"I don't blame everything on Pop, but what he said had a lot of influence (and) you had a lot of people where, unfortunately, you can't control what everybody's intelligence is", Pachulia said, per Amick. The Warriors, who likely would do that if the Spurs were fully healthy, are on the verge of doing it except not in the series as we wanted. From that point on, the Warriors cruised to the win.
The Spurs will host game four on Wednesday (AEST). Golden State led San Antonio, 100-88, at the finish of the third. Golden State turned the ball over 21 times in Game 3, leading to 25 San Antonio points.
All of the pressure is on the Wizards tonight on the brink of elimination and Game 7, should they win, heading back to Boston. That being said, Durant would have deferred more to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson if Leonard were covering him-especially since Curry and Thompson were far better in Game 3 against the Spurs than in Game 3 against the Jazz. It didn't really swell up, it just got stiff.
"This is getting a little weird", Ginobili said after questions hinting at retirement. The Warriors played rough, forcing more than a few fouls, such as the one that took out Lee, and closed out the half at 64-55.
Ginobili went on to explain that his decision on whether or not he will play next season has nothing to do with individual games in the playoffs.