Portland threw away a good opportunity in Game 3, surrendering a 15-point third quarter lead to lose 108-120. With Victor Wembanyama still in concussion protocols, Portland looked like they were well on their way to a 2-1 series lead, but it all started to come undone late in the third, seeing the visitors take the lead into the fourth quarter before running away with the contest. It was a particularly poor defensive showing, considering Wembanyama’s absence, as Portland allowed a 75% shooting clip at the rim and gave the visitors too many open looks from deep. Jrue Holiday defended vigorously and was Portland’s best with 29 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Scoot Henderson again had his moments with 21 points, and Deni Avdija had some success at the free throw line, going 12/16, but shot just 3/15 from the floor too end with 19 points and nine assists.
It was a huge showing from San Antonio’s two young guards, as Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper combined to score 60 points and lead San Antonio’s resurgence. Harper finished as a +25 in his 30 minutes off the bench, as he had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and one block in the win, while Castle had 33 points and five assists. Luke Kornet did his role in the starting lineup with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks and De’Aaron Fox was happy to play second fiddle in the backcourt with 18 points and six assists.
There is a decent chance that Wemby returns on Monday, and that firmly puts San Antonio in the box seat for this game. It was discouraging to see Portland collapse in such a good position in Game 3, and on the back of that, it’s hard to back them at home even as underdogs. San Antonio went 24-18-1 ATS on the road in the regular season and will be too good in the fourth again.
Philadelphia came so close to making it back-to-back wins against Boston, but Jayson Tatum showed his class down the stretch to steer his team to a crucial 100-108 victory. The visitors were in control for most of the contest, as Philadelphia struggled to get regular stops in a 120.2 defensive rating, as Boston got up plenty of open threes and Philly struggled to respond. Tyrese Maxey had a poor shooting night, going just 12/31 from the field to finish with 31 points, six assists, and two blocks. VJ Edgecombe had just 10 points and 10 rebounds on 5/17 shooting after a standout Game 2 and while Paul George shot well for his 18 points and five assists, he was often a step behind defensively.
Tatum earned this win for Boston, scoring 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including canning a couple of late threes in the clutch to keep Boston’s noses in front and seal the win. Jaylen Brown also dropped 25 points with three blocks on another efficient offensive performance, while Payton Pritchard drilled five threes for his 15 points. In all, it was another elite shooting performance from Boston, with a 56.8% eFG, going 20/47 from deep, to regain home court advantage in this series.
This is a hugely important Game 4 and I expect the class of Boston to rise to the top. They have been far from their best in their last two outings, but we have seen enough from both Tatum and Brown to suggest that they are going to combine for something special in this series. On the other end, Maxey has not been convincing and while Edgecombe has had his moments, he can’t be relied upon at this point in his career. I am picking Boston to win well here.
Houston’s season is now on life support after falling to a 0-3 hole after a 108-112 overtime loss on Saturday. It came in one of the worst playoff collapses in recent memory, as Houston led 101-95 with possession with 30 seconds to play. However, back-to-back turnovers in the back court, followed by consecutive three-point possessions from Los Angeles saw the visitors tie the game and dramatically send it to overtime, where Houston never looked nice comfortable, making for a terrible defeat. With Kevin Durant (ankle) again out, Alperen Şengün did all he could to get Houston the win, with 33 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals, but he looked completely exhausted towards the end of his 47 minutes of play. Amen Thompson had 26 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and three blocks and Jabari Smith Jr had 24 points, but Houston’s lack of depth with their current injuries really hurt them, with no role player being able to provide valuable contributions.
Although his box score numbers were nothing special, this was another elite playoff performance from LeBron James. He again showed an ability to turn it on when it mattered most, coming up with a clutch three and some big defensive plays in the fourth quarter and OT to guide the Lakers home with 29 points, six rebounds and three assists. Marcus Smart was just as impressive, hitting three clutch free throws in regulation and scoring eight points in OT to have 21 points, 10 assists, five steals and two blocks in a game-changing showing. Rui Hachimura did his job with 22 points and Jaxson Hayes had some moments with 12 points and two blocks.
The Lakers have been able to really limit Houston’s offensive success in this series and it’s hard to see that changing on Monday. This is a must-win for Houston but their body language has not been convincing this series and with Austin Reaves (questionable) a chance of returning in Game 4, I am calling a sweep.