The Warriors were so hot during their 30-point drubbing of the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals that they did something that hasn’t been accomplished in the NBA playoffs for over 20 years.
Not only did Golden State drop 142 points on Memphis – the most points the Warriors have scored in a game this postseason – to take a two-games-to-one series lead on Saturday, but the box score was also just as impressive. The Warriors shot 63.1 percent from the field (53-of-84), 53.1 percent from 3-point range (17-of-32) and 90.5 percent from the free throw line (19-of-21).
That resulted in Golden State becoming the second team in NBA history to shoot better than 60 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep and 90 percent from the line during a playoff game.
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The only other team to reach those stat lines was the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors behind Allen Iverson’s 52 points.
The Warriors didn’t have a 50-point scorer in Game 3, with the contributions pretty evenly distributed between Steph Curry (30 points), Jordan Poole (27 points) and Klay Thompson (21 points), while Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter Jr. also reaching double figures.
And they were all extremely efficient. No Warriors player shot worse than 50 percent from the field, a feat that usually results in an easy win – which was the case on Saturday.
Golden State Warriors
Related: Patient Warriors shoot their way to series lead over Memphis
In addition to the stellar shooting stats, the underrated part of the accomplishment was near-perfect foul shooting. Curry, who has uncharacteristically struggled from the line in the playoffs, knocked down all 14 of his free throw attempts – accounting for nearly half of his scoring. That’s a good indication that the best shooter in the history of the league is back to his automatic ways from the line.
The 76ers-Raptors series in 2001 went seven games, with Iverson’s Sixers eventually prevailing. With a two-games-to-one series advantage and an opportunity to take a commanding lead in Game 4 at Chase Center on Monday, the Warriors will hope to continue their hot shooting and have a much easier road to the conference finals.