![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="441" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
The Golden State Warriors certainly had their struggles against the Los Angeles Lakers in Saturday’s Game 3, but they had a couple of moments, too.
The most emphatic of those moments came in the middle of the third quarter when Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins finished a vicious slam dunk over Lakers big man Anthony Davis. The Warriors account tweeted out video of the play almost immediately after it was made.
Steph Curry drove to the hoop and had a layup blocked at the rim. The ball was batted around before falling into the hands of Dubs center Kevon Looney. Wiggins sliced through the lane and Looney found him with a pass. Wiggins took off from two-feet, skied through the air, cocked back with his right arm and brought the hammer down on top of Davis’ head.
Andrew Wiggins, Warriors Struggled Down Stretch in Game 3
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="440" width="782" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
GettyAnthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers (left) battles Andrew Wiggins of the Golden State Warriors (right) for a rebound during Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals in May 2023.
Sadly for Wiggins and the rest of the Warriors, things all pretty much went downhill from there.
Golden State and Los Angeles both removed their primary contributors from the game early in the fourth quarter ,as the Lakers stretched out a lead of more than 20 points. The flip-flop outcome Saturday night came on the heels of the Warriors executing their own blowout victory at Chase Center in Game 2 on Thursday, May 4, when the Dubs defeated L.A. by a score of 127-100.
The Warriors shot 50% from behind the 3-point line, knocking in 21-of-42 from deep on Thursday. That performance matched the 21 made 3-pointers Golden State tallied in a close loss to L.A. at home in Game 1, though it took 53 attempts to get to that number in the series opener.
Warriors’ Stars Get Rest Ahead of Pivotal Game 4 Against Lakers
GettySteph Curry lowers his head after mistakenly calling a timeout during Game 4 of the Golden State Warriors’ first-round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings.
The Lakers’ defense was significantly better on Saturday night, holding the Dubs to 13-of-44 from deep and winning by a score of 127-97.
Wiggins produced the best outing of his series on Saturday, scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds to go along with four assists and one block. Curry led the Warriors with 23 points while Klay Thompson struggled, shooting 5-of-14 from the field and scoring 15 points.
The silver lining of the blowout is that the Warriors’ star players got significant rest at the end of the contest, which should help them take the floor with fresher legs come a pivotal Game 4 on Monday night in Los Angeles.
Curry sat staring out over the court despondently with a towel draped over his head for most of the fourth quarter, joined by Draymond Green who never got into much of a flow Saturday due to foul trouble. He picked up his fifth personal foul in the middle of the third quarter.
Of course, blowout rest is a two-sided coin. The Lakers’ dynamic duo of Davis and LeBron James got a mini-vacation of their own. But James is the elder statesman of the several superstars across both benches in this series, while the Warriors were forced to fight through a brutal seven-game bout with the scrappy Sacramento Kings in the first round.
The winner of Game 4 is likely to be a strong indicator as to which team will win the series. If the Warriors capture the victory, they steal back home court and head to Chase Center for Game 5 with momentum. If the Lakers win, Curry and company will face a 3-1 deficit — an obstacle rarely overcome in the history of the NBA Playoffs.
0 Comments