SI:AM | The Shorthanded Warriors Avoided a Catastrophe

Plus, the English soccer team going all in on environmentalism.

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Check out these two impressive defensive plays by Isiah Kiner-Falefa that I was fortunate enough to witness in person yesterday afternoon.

In today’s SI:AM:

🌳 The world’s greenest soccer team

🏈 Mr. Not-So-Irrelevant

🌁 The A’s abandon their fans

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No Draymond, no problem

It sure looked like the Warriors were toast after Draymond Green was suspended for stomping on the chest of Domantas Sabonis. Golden State was already down 2–0 in the series and would be forced to face the league’s best offense without its top defensive player.

But the Warriors’ other players stepped up in a 114–97 win in Game 3 last night to avoid falling into an 3–0 hole. Stephen Curry erupted for 36 points, Andrew Wiggins contributed 20 and Kevon Looney pulled down an astonishing 20 rebounds while dishing out nine assists.

The Warriors were also without Gary Payton II, another key defender, due to an illness, but their reserves rose to the occasion. Donte DiVincenzo, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody all saw increased minutes and played well. DiVincenzo had eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals, while Moody and Kuminga combined to score 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

“I thought Donte was fantastic,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “He handled the ball. He had eight assists. Took some pressure off of Steph and Jordan [Poole] and got us into our flow.”

It was a surprisingly easy win for the Warriors after the first two games of the series, with both teams at full strength, were decided by a combined 11 points. Even without two of its most important players, Golden State was clearly the better team. That bodes well for the defending champs in a crucial Game 4 in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon. The Kings should be concerned about getting blown out last night, but it’s not time for them to panic. The Warriors’ terrible road record means that Sacramento’s home court advantage is significant. This series could very well end up going seven games, but until the Warriors prove they can win on the road, it’s the Kings who have the upper hand.

Devin Booker carries the Suns to a 2–1 lead

Speaking of players stepping up in the absence of star teammates, give it up for Norman Powell. With Paul George already out, the Clippers were dealt another blow when Kawhi Leonard was ruled out for last night’s Game 3 against the Suns with a knee sprain.

That opened the door for Powell to get his first start of the series, and he made the most of the opportunity. Powell had 42 points on 15-of-23 shooting, one off his career high. His outburst helped the Clippers keep pace with the Suns, but it wasn’t enough. Devin Booker had 45 points (on 18-of-29 shooting) as Phoenix eked out a 129–124 victory to take a 2–1 series lead.

It was an impressive night for Booker, but the Suns still have issues. All due respect to Powell, but Phoenix really should have had an easier time against a Clippers team that was missing its top two players.

Also of concern is that Booker and Kevin Durant continue to shoulder grueling workloads. Booker played 45 minutes last night, and Durant played 42. That’ll catch up to them eventually if the Suns advance much further.

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The best of Sports Illustrated

Photograph by Thomas Lovelock. Illustration by Davide Barco

• Today’s Daily Cover, by John Gonzalez, is the story of an English soccer team, aptly named Forest Green Rovers, that is going all in on environmental sustainability.
• Keeping up with the green theme, Madeline Coleman wrote about the future of fossil fuels in F1.
• The success of Brock Purdy has made the annual celebration of the NFL’s Mr. Irrelevant more relevant than ever, Greg Bishop writes.
• Emma Baccellieri and Stephanie Apstein both took the A’s to task for their decision to abandon Oakland.
• Matt Verderame has a list of five sleeper prospects to know before next week’s NFL draft.
• The Diamondbacks designated 2014 World Series hero Madison Bumgarner for assignment.
• Max Scherzer was issued a 10-game suspension for using a foreign substance.
• The Raptors have reportedly fired coach Nick Nurse.

The top five...

… things I saw last night:

5. Kraken forward Brandon Tanev blowing a kiss to an Avalanche fan after a goal.

4. Donte DiVincenzo’s buzzer-beating floater and Stephen Curry’s reaction.

3. Mookie Betts’s smooth double play on his first MLB chance at shortstop.

2. Patrick Kane’s individual effort on his goal against the Devils.

1. Joel Embiid’s game-sealing block to send the Sixers up 3–0 over the Nets.

SIQ

On this day in 1990, a National League umpire was arrested for stealing what from a Target in California?

• Watches
• CD players
• Candy bars
• Baseball cards

Yesterday’s SIQ: When Michael Jordan scored a playoff-record 63 points against the Celtics in 1986, a Boston player said after the game, “I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan.” Who said it?

• Danny Ainge
• Kevin McHale
• Bill Walton
• Larry Bird

Answer: Larry Bird. Here’s the full quote: “I think he’s God disguised as Michael Jordan. He is the most awesome player in the NBA. Today in Boston Garden, on national TV, in the playoffs, he put on one of the greatest shows of all time. I couldn’t believe anybody could do that against the Boston Celtics.”

That’s high praise from one of the all-time greats. Jordan was only 23 years old and had been limited to just 18 games during the regular season due to a broken foot. But the Bulls squeaked into the playoffs at 30–52. No team since then has made the playoffs with a worse record. Their reward: drawing the Celtics in the first round. Jordan scored 49 points in a Game 1 loss and then broke Elgin Baylor’s playoff scoring record in a double-overtime loss in Game 2.

As if it wasn’t already clear enough that Jordan was on another level that day, a 2016 ESPN piece by John McTigue and Michael Schwartz includes some staggering facts about his performance. For example, he was guarded by seven different Celtics players, five of whom were later inducted into the Hall of Fame. The only one of the seven he didn’t score on was Rick Carlisle. (Jordan missed the only shot he took against Carlisle.) Those defenders were playing him tight, too. Of the 41 shots Jordan took, only three were uncontested.