Programming note: Relive Game 3 of the first round of the 2015 playoffs when NBC Sports Bay Area re-airs the Warriors' win over the Pelicans on Monday, March 31 at 8 p.m. PT.
Game 3 of the Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans first-round playoff series in 2015 was absolutely amazing.
Golden State trailed by 20 points at the end of the third quarter, and faced a 15-point deficit with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.
Final score -- Warriors 123, Pelicans 119 (OT).
“That game was just incredible. I mean, I think that was one of Steph’s signature games," coach Steve Kerr told Wes Goldberg of the Bay Area News Group. "People may not remember the clutch three he hit before the last three, just to get us within a bucket. I think he hit one off of a side-out-of-bounds play with maybe 10 seconds left. I think that cut it to one, and then after they made a couple free throws he hit another three.
"So, following that 20-point comeback and fourth, as I recall, Shaun Livingston played a big role in it, I think we went really small the whole four quarter with Andre (Iguodala), Draymond (Green), all the small-ball guys came up huge and then Steph did his thing.
"That was a really, really fun game.”
OK. Let's hash out the exact details.
New Orleans guard Jrue Holiday hit two free throws with 17.4 seconds remaining to make it 107-102. And then ...
Pelicans big man Anthony Davis helped the Warriors out big time by missing the first of two free throws. So the Warriors regained possession -- down by three -- with 9.6 seconds to go.
That's when Steph Curry broke the Internet, with an assist from Mo Speights.
[RELATED: Watch every 3 Steph has made from 30 feet and beyond]
The two-time NBA MVP didn't shoot the ball well overall this night. He was 10-for-29. But 40 points -- tied for the third most in his playoff career -- and the late-game heroics definitely make it a "signature game."
Two days later, the Warriors cruised past New Orleans to complete the sweep.
"It was one step," Kerr told Goldberg. "So I think we had to take everything step by step and that first round was a big step for us and then the next round against Memphis was probably the bigger one, being down on the road and all that.”
Follow @DrewShiller on Twitter and Instagram
