Stephen Curry's heroics in vain for Golden State Warriors after Game 3 defeat
Game 4 of the NBA Finals takes place in the early hours of Saturday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena
Thursday 6 June 2019 11:38, UK
Missing two key pillars of their starting lineup, the Golden State Warriors turned to Stephen Curry against the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals and the two-time MVP delivered.
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Curry gave them 47 points and six three-pointers while playing nearly the entire game, but it was not enough to save them from a 123-109 defeat as Klay Thompson (hamstring) and forward Kevin Durant (calf) both sat out injured.
The Warriors' other starters could only muster 36 points combined and the two-time defending champions now trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr though, said the team could still hold their head high.
"Very proud," he told reporters when asked about the team's effort, which included players diving for loose balls and sacrificing their bodies to take charges on defense.
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"They played really, really hard and gave it everything they had and just ran into a better team tonight."
Curry echoed Kerr's comments and said the team, who play under the motto 'Strength in Numbers', would not use the injuries as an excuse.
"The moment is now. You got to try to have 'next man up' mentality, like we always say, and just go out and fight," he said.
"We did that tonight. We can play better, obviously better on the defensive end, but I liked the competitiveness that we had, understanding that we're missing 50 points pretty much between KD and Klay.
"So we'll adjust. And it's a long series you know. It's going to be fun for us."
Forward Draymond Green said he also liked his team's effort and struck an optimistic tone.
"Win the next game, go back to Toronto, win Game 5, come back to Oracle, win Game 6 and then celebrate. Fun times ahead."
Kerr said he thought Thompson would be back for Game 4, but did not have an update on Durant's status.
Kerr tipped his hat to Curry, who had a career playoff high in points despite being aggressively double teamed throughout the contest.
"Steph was incredible. He does things that honestly I don't think anybody has ever done before," he said.
"The way he plays the game, the way he shoots it and the combination of his ball handling and shooting skills, it's incredible to watch.
"He was amazing."
Game 4 takes place in Oakland in the early hours of Saturday morning (2am) live on Sky Sports Arena.
