In the third game of the series, Al Horford fell on his foot chasing a ball. There is a time and a place for this.
There was a lot to digest for the Golden State Warriors after they lost to the Celtics in the NBA finals. The status of their star player, Stephen Curry, was uppermost in their minds after they fell behind in the series.
Curry dove to the floor to try and get a loose ball as the Warriors were down by 12 in the fourth quarter. Horford rolled on Curry's left leg as Curry and Horford struggled to get the ball.
Curry lay on the floor in pain for a short time.
Draymond Green said he saw him get dove on. I pushed people off of him because he was yelling at the bottom of the pile.
Curry looked like he had a limp.
Curry said that he would be all right. We're going to see how it responds. Nothing else to say. I don't think I'm going to miss a game. The next 48 hours are a good time to prepare.
Curry walked gingerly as he walked out of the news conference room, trying to not put too much pressure on his left foot.
Curry said the injury was very similar to the one he suffered against the Celtics, when he injured his foot on a Marcus Smart play. Curry strained his left foot, the same one he injured in Game 3, and missed the last month of the season. Curry said the injury felt less serious on Wednesday.
Curry said thatHorford is a large body. I'm not sure if it could have been avoided or not. You just want to get out of there when you're in that situation with Marcus. I was only trying to know the position I was in at that time. It's not as bad as I think it is. Hopefully, it will respond well over the next couple of days.
Steve Kerr said the Warriors would know more tomorrow.
Losing Curry would hurt the Warriors' title chances. Curry's injury would be bad news for Golden State.
Curry has been the best player through the first three games. He scored 31 points in the third game on 12-of-22 shooting. He got some help from Klay Thompson, who finished with 25 points, in exchange for Green.
Green failed to make a difference on defense. He didn't provide the same level of focus or intensity as he had in the past. He didn't last long when he went to help Curry.
Green's son was by his side as he spoke to the media. He referred to himself as soft later on.
Celtics fans continued to chant "F--- you, Draymond" throughout the night despite Green's performance.
Thompson has played in front of rude people before. There are children in the crowd. It's real classy. Well done, Boston.
Golden State guard Jordan Poole contributed 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, but still couldn't find a way to make a difference.
Boston smothered Curry on defense all night long. Curry averaged five plays in transition in the first two games, but the Celtics held him to two.
Curry was forced out of the paint as they forced him to shoot from 9 feet away. There were 12 such attempts in the first and second games.
Curry said that they are very physical. Robert Williams III is behind the play and they usually have a lot of length and size on the wings.
Curry attempted just one free throw because he couldn't drive to the rim and create contact and because Horford didn't give him enough room on his 3-point shot.
Curry wondered why there was only one free throw. There are a couple possessions or plays that I could have taken advantage of.
Curry had only one free throw attempt in the playoffs.
Curry said that it was difficult to understand the flow of the game because of some of the calls that went his way. You have to find a way to be effective no matter how the game is called, and that is a good lesson to learn for the next game.
The Warriors did not lose because of the free throw disparity. The Celtics shot 24 to the Warriors' 15. The Celtics played with a lot of physical strength and power.
Boston dominated on the boards with a 47-31 advantage. The Warriors were outmatched in the paint by the Celts.
The main issue was the point-of- attack defense. They passed us. It was not based on what they were doing. They were coming downhill at us and that hurt us.
In the first half, the Warriors were down by 18 points. They played a great third quarter, even taking a lead after a seven point possession late in the period. The Celtics closed out the game after they weren't able to sustain it.
The Warriors need to play better throughout the entire game. The force they found in the Game 2 victory is what they need. They know they need to contribute more.
They all know that if Curry is unavailable, this won't matter.
Thompson said that they needed him if they wanted to win the thing. I know that he's going to do everything he can to help the team. Without him, it will be very difficult, because he is our identity.
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