The good news for the Golden State Warriors: Injured guard Klay Thompson is expected to be ready for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday night. The bad: Kevin Durant will not.
It’s looking more and more like that pesky calf issue will keep Durant from playing at all in these Finals and perhaps for the Warriors ever again. However, the latter is for the discussion following the conclusion of a series Toronto leads 2-1.
With Durant, deep-threat Thompson and defensive stalwart Kevon Looney all out, the Raptors shot 52.4 percent and had little trouble handling Golden State 123-109 in Game 3 at Oakland on Wednesday. That was despite a memorable 47 points from Steph Curry. This could end up a short series — in a bad way — for the Warriors if the three aforementioned injured players aren’t available going forward. At least the one-half of Metallica that shredded the national anthem prior to Game 3 came through for the home side.
Back on the court of play, one would think the Warriors can make due with Thompson back in the mix. He totaled 46 points and went 7-of-12 from three-point range in the first two games of the Finals, and his presence alone should instill confidence to a squad that’s aching both physically and mentally. Then again, who is going to stop Kawhi Leonard, who had 30 points with seven boards and six assists in Game 3 for Toronto? At the moment, does Golden State have anybody healthy enough to even slightly contain Leonard? Guess the Warriors will just have to rely on another 40-plus night, perhaps even 50, from Curry. It’s not ideal, but we’re nearing that moment of desperation for the Dubs.
Which brings us to today’s quiz of the day. Curry's 47 points in Game 3 were the eighth-most by a player in an NBA Finals game. In NBA postseason history, a player has scored 40 or more points in an NBA Finals game on 58 occasions. So with that in mind, how many of the 58 can you name in six minutes?
Good luck!