The depleted Warriors didn’t have enough firepower to overcome the absence of their star players in Game 3, but the team expects Klay Thompson to play Friday and is cautiously optimistic that Kevin Durant also will return.
OAKLAND, Calif. — Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry scored 47 points in a 123-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. It was the most he has scored in any postseason game in his career, besting the 44 he put up in the 2013 playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite Curry’s offensive brilliance, the depleted Warriors didn’t have enough firepower to overcome the absence of Klay Thompson (hamstring), Kevin Durant (calf) and Kevon Looney (costal cartilage fracture), falling behind 2-1 in the series.
The good news for Golden State is that Thompson is expected to play Friday, and the Warriors are cautiously optimistic that Durant also will make his return for Game 4 at Oracle Arena.
Thompson was a game-time decision on Wednesday, but the Warriors’ staff ultimately decided to hold him out, despite the All-Star swingman pushing to play.
“The whole point was to not risk a bigger injury that would keep him out of the rest of the series,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “So that was the decision we made, and I feel very comfortable with it. Never would have forgiven myself if I played him tonight and he had gotten hurt. So you live with the decision you make, you make a wise decision, the wisest one you can, and then you live with it and move forward.
“So the good thing is, Klay has done well the last two days; now he has a couple more days to heal, and hopefully he’ll be out there on Friday.”
Thompson injured his left hamstring in the fourth quarter of Game 2 in Toronto and exited for the remainder of the contest.
As for Durant, Kerr noted before Wednesday’s game that the two-time Finals MVP continues doing more each day in his workouts and is on track to participate in some 3-on-3 scrimmages on Thursday.
