NBA Finals Game 3: Golden State Warriors vs. Boston Celtics – live! | NBA Finals

Warriors 25-39 Celtics, 9:51, second quarter

The Celtics crowd cheered Green’s first foul of the night. That was pretty much expected. Tatum misses a three but the Celtics secure the rebound. Chances of the second chance are great: Williams collects them with another result.

However, Thompson seems to be warming up after a rough start to the series. He knocks down a three-pointer, but down the other end, Williams the Robert dives all over the Golden State.

Warriors 22-35 Celtics, 11:37, second quarter

Grant Williams is in the game and scores immediately to start the second for the Celtics.

It is illegal not to be able to quote “Star Wars” in any potential situation in 21st century America. We all need to know that.

Warriors 22-33 Celtics, end of the first quarter

Celtics rave about Looney to keep him from scoring but that defense is nothing thanks to Klay Thompson hitting a three. However, Brown responds with one of his own. That’s 17 points in the first quarter for Brown. White takes his second foul with only 6.3 left in the first quarter. Thompson hits both of his free throws to make it an easy draining finish to a near-perfect quarter. Your lead is 11 points and it feels like it’s more against your average team.

The warriors are not average. It’s going to be a long game.

Warriors 17-30 Celtics, 1:46, first quarter

White rushes to foul Gary Payton II to prevent an easy layup. It’s a big effort, but Payton still takes his two free throws.

Warriors 15-30 Celtics, 2:00, first quarter

Poole is called out for a foul. Smart takes his turn and hits both freebies this time. Curry scores here immediately.

Then Smart hits Brown for a dunk: That’s 14 points to him and maybe that Warriors mini-run doesn’t come.

Warriors 13-26 Celtics, 3:48, first quarter

Looney with a time-out dunk. Exactly what you want to see as a head coach. Also, Jordan Poole is in the game. Wouldn’t be shocked at a Mini Warriors run here.

I don’t know, I have a feeling these games don’t start until the third quarter.

Wait wait, that doesn’t mean stop reading! That means read this to the end. I want to stress that you should always look out for me in whatever you do.

Warriors 11-26 Celtics, 3:48, first quarter

White lays up. Steph Curry hits a jumper to try and get the Warriors going but Horford – who is mostly invisible on Sunday – dives in and that will force the Warriors to time out.

Warriors 9-22 Celtics, 4:26, first quarter

Marcus Smart is on the line with two free throws and… misses both. Perhaps the only thing that has gone wrong for them so far this quarter. Wiggins can’t connect for the Warriors, but Horford can on the other end.

And there’s a Golden State turnover, but Draymond Green shows up and lays down the cleanest block you’ll ever see. However, Boston retains possession and Brown scores.

The Celtics avoided turnovers early on. I think you need to emphasize that. Wouldn’t be shocked if this was a “good start, don’t get cocky” speech from Udoka.

Warriors 9-18 Celtics, 5:44, first quarter

Wiggins sneaks through the Celtics defense for a layup. What a second act in his career! However, Brown swims up one, he already has 10 points.

In the middle of the first quarter, Curry conceded his second foul. This is also something to watch out for. The Celtics are taking a break.

Warriors 7-16 Celtics, 6:51, first quarter

Warriors who look good just don’t meet them early. Something to look at. Wiggins turns the ball over with a fairly obvious offensive foul, but the Celtics turn it over early on next possession. Tatum loses control but manages to save the ball.

Brown gets free throws after being fouled by Gary Payton II, only for Kevon Looney. Brown makes his two free throws.

Warriors 7-14 Celtics, 7:55, first quarter

Tatum responds but gets to the basket to retake the eight-point lead. Derrick White is early to replace Williams and Curry hits a three immediately. Marcus Smart posts for another basket in the suit. The Celtics feel it early.

Warriors 2-10 Celtics, 10:03, first quarter

Horford with a threesome. Brown with a three pointer! I’ve never heard the garden so loud so early in a game. That’s a 10-0 run.

Warriors 2-4 Celtics, 11:03, first quarter

Brown responds with a three and then Jayson Tatum is fouled and his arm doesn’t appear to be right here. Tatum makes one of two free throws on the line.

opening tip

This could actually be the entire game.

national anthem

Michelle Brooks Thompson sings. It’s good. San Francisco had more fun with The Star Spangled Banner. 6/10

The first finals game in TD Garden since 2010. There was a massive cheating alert this morning so there’s a good chance not everyone who thought they had tickets will get in.

Boston Celtics starting lineup

Jayson Tatum, G/F

Markus Smart, G

Jaylen Brown, F/G

Robert Williams C

Al Horford, F

One cool thing about Boston being in the NBA Finals: They get tough on the Starr gang on those pregame mondays. (RIP Guru, Boston Legend)

Golden State Warriors starting lineup

Steph Curry, G

Klay Thompson, G/F

Draymond Green, C/F

Kevon Looney, C/F

Andrew Wiggins, F

Stephen A. Smith says that Draymond Green knows that those umpires will be biased against him and that he won’t be able to be as…involved, say, as in Game 2.

He’s probably not wrong! Also, wow, that Boston crowd is about to rain anger on him.

Derrick White

I’m biased, but I’ll still say that the unlikely tale of Derrick White’s unlikely journey into the NBA and tortuous journey to the NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics is worth reading. We have some time here, especially as the opening tip always seems to be nebulous timing.

(No, I don’t know why the games still start at 9pm EST even though we’re not on the West Coast anymore.)

predictions

Me? I’ve seen this pattern enough: The Celtics are humiliated after stumbling through a winnable game that becomes an embarrassing defeat through their own carelessness, pull themselves together and pull off a big win. They haven’t lost twice yet – as mentioned – and I see that continuing here. This could even be a relatively stress-free win, think double digits by the fourth, although the live commentator in me is hoping not to win two games in a row decided so early.

Her thoughts? Once again, I would like to remind everyone that they can email or tweet their predictions to [email protected] @HunterFelt and we will include them in this live blog. Unless it’s in the middle of the fourth quarter. It’s just cheating, isn’t it?

injury report

For what it’s worth, Andre Iguodala is available for the Golden State Warriors tonight. Didn’t really feel they needed him in Game 2.

Robert Williams is also good for the Boston Celtics but hopefully he’s looking better than he did on Sunday when he hobbled enough to injure the team. When he’s healthy it’s pretty obvious (especially for the other team).

Scott Foster

For all those who were hoping we wouldn’t get a referee show this time after the nonsense of Game 2? Sorry, Scott Foster is here as part of the NBA crew.

If you’re wondering if you’re not an official in good standing just think that all bookmakers took immediate notice and sent me a whole bunch of emails about how this might affect the game. The Celtics are 3-1 in playoff games led by Foster this year for what that’s worth.

Draymond Green

The key moment in Game 2? Well, there was a moment during an on-pitch encounter between the Warriors’ Draymond Green and Celtics’ Jaylen Brown when the officials could (and arguably should) have been called out for double technical fouls. However, that would have meant Green, Golden State’s defensive machine, would have to be ejected after picking up a tech early in the game.

Knowing this was difficult in the middle of a playoff game, they decided not to call her. Green stayed in the game, and his defensive energy—not to mention the Celtics’ frustration that he was still in the game—was a major reason for Boston’s collapse.

Like it or not, the rules change in the playoffs and the Celtics knew that when they came in. It’s hard for them to get angry about that, especially since the game ended up being an absolute loss. As CelticsWire’s Justin Quinn rightly points out, “Boston being bothered by such antics, which willy-nilly are a feature of the modern game and not a fault, amounting to 18 turnovers, is why they lost the game. ”

Context: Boston teams have a history, some (but not all) apocryphal, of not quite playing up and down.

preamble

Well, that was a lot more predictable than Game 1 on Thursday. The Boston Celtics are not good at playing from the front. After a big comeback win over the Golden State Warriors in the previous game, the Celtics decided to repeat the third-quarter collapse while avoiding a repeat of the miracle fourth. So, yes, it was a big loss for Boston, to the point that Celtics head coach Ime Udoka pulled his starters well before the last buzzer.

Considering their opponents, it shouldn’t have shocked them: the odds of them winning both road games to start the 2022 NBA Finals against this Warriors team were always slim. The Warriors drew 1-1 in the NBA Finals, guaranteeing what we all expected: it’s going to be a long streak. I don’t see both teams winning against each other three times in a row.

Keep in mind that the Celtics haven’t lost two games in a row all of the postseason. That’s usually a good stat to have in your back pocket, but Boston can’t be complacent. I remember a message from “Scream 3”, all bets are closed in the third part of the series.

As we all bear witness, you can write to us and have your thoughts on Finals 3 posted here for all to see. If you prefer to use email, send or tweet them to [email protected] @HunterFelt. It’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. The opening tip is scheduled for 9:00 PM EST, but we’ll be in touch with news, predictions, and random silliness well before then.

Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a recap of Golden State’s Game 2 win.