Stephen Curry was fantastic during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, sparking a massive third quarter run that keyed the Golden State Warriors in a (very) lopsided victory over the Houston Rockets. After much was made of Curry’s Game 2 struggles and the potential impact of his lingering injury status, the former unanimous MVP was electric to the tune of 35 points and Curry left little doubt as to who the most impactful player on the floor was when his team was taking a 2-1 series lead.
However, Rockets center Clint Capela wasn’t particularly impressed, at least when considering the comments he made to Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s The Undefeated in the aftermath of the game.
“I don’t think there was a difference. During the three games [this series], he just kept playing. Tonight, he just had open looks at the 3 and just shot it. But the first two games, he didn’t have open looks from 3. Tonight, he just made them.
“If I’m close to him when he’s shooting 3s, he’s not going to make 3s. Whenever he got a little separation, that is why he made 3s. Not really [worried].”
Though at least some of Capela’s sentiment is likely true through the prism of Curry operating with more space, it doesn’t seem like the best idea for the young big man to poke the bear in this fashion. Obviously, there is some element of confidence to what Capela was saying, especially when it came to his own impact on what Curry is able to do. Still, it was quite clear that Curry did more than simply knock down open looks, as he made “only” five threes (on 12 attempts) while finishing 8 of 11 from two-point range on the night.
Virtually no one would suggest that the Warriors are anything but unstoppable when Curry plays the way he did in Game 3 and, simply put, the series is probably over if he continues to operate at that level. Capela doesn’t seem to be worried, though, which is certainly a public decision he is allowed to make.
