Feeling a new sense of urgency after falling behind in the Finals, the Golden State Warriors are seeking a solution to Cleveland’s defensive success against the NBA’s most prolific scorers.
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The Cavaliers silenced MVP Steph Curry most of the night in a 96-91 victory that gave the hosts a 2-1 edge but the Warriors are determined to stop the rot.
“There’s a sense of urgency now. It’s the NBA Finals. We can’t let any quarters, any possessions, go as we try to win three more games,” Curry said.
Coach Blatt so far has taken Steph Curry out of the game because by double teaming him on every pick & roll.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) June 10, 2015
“We can take our intensity to another level. That’s what we have to do. We’ve got to be more aggressive with our offensive game, more assertive.”
Curry scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, hitting seven 3-pointers as the Warriors trimmed a 20-point deficit to a single point.
But Golden State never led and even Curry finding his rhythm was not enough to keep the NBA’s No 1 seed from falling to the Cavs.
“I was pleased with the way we responded when we got down and I’m very confident we’ll play better in game four,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
But Kerr was concerned that his team, which have no players with any prior NBA Finals experience, could stumble so badly at the start.
“I didn’t like our energy. I didn’t like our body language for most of those first three quarters,” Kerr said. “This is what we have to fight through. You have got to bring energy. You’ve got to bring life. You’ve got to bring some emotion.
“We can’t get our heads down. That’s why I was pleased with the comeback, because we looked more like ourselves. It’s the finals. There’s a lot at stake so we’ve got to compete every second.”
To Curry the answer is simple, be aggressive in shooting from the start and stay that way. He said: “For us to win this series, we have to play that way the whole game. So no excuse why for three quarters we couldn’t get any spark.
“Whether I’m making shots or not, I’ve got to stay – I’ll use the word vibrant – just kind of having fun out there because the team definitely feeds off of my joy for the game. This is going to be a hard-fought series and I’ve got to have a huge part in it.”
