Game 3 NBA Finals: Steph Curry was injured in the 116-100 Warriors loss to Celtics

Late in the third quarter, Steph Curry unleashed a 27-foot three-pointer to put the Golden State Warriors ahead of the Boston Celtics for the first time since the opening minute.

It was also the last time the Warriors led when they were defeated 116-100 by the Celtics, who were leading 2-1 in the best-of-seven series of the NBA Finals.

A bad night was made worse for Golden State when Curry went down in a scramble for a loose ball with Boston's Al Horford, who rolled onto Curry's foot with four minutes remaining.

Despite writhing on the ground in pain, the Warriors talisman continued to play before leaving the pitch two minutes later.

"We need him if we're going to win this thing," said Curry's Splash brother, Klay Thompson. "I know Steph will do everything in his power to play. I really hope he's okay because he's our identity and without him it's going to be very difficult."

Curry proved to be the only Warriors player able to challenge the Celtics' strong defense, who showed their superiority late and held Golden State to 11 points in the fourth quarter.

He was Wednesday's top scorer with 31 points and Golden State is desperately hoping he recovers in time for Game 4.

"Of course I'm in pain, but I'll be fine," Curry told reporters after the game. "See how I feel tomorrow and get ready for Friday.

"I don't feel like I'm missing a game. I will use the next 48 hours to prepare myself."

Boston raced to an early lead, helped by two three-pointers from Jaylen Brown — who led the Celtics with 27 points, nine rebounds and five assists — in the first quarter. Boston's lead widened to as much as 15 points, and the Celtics went into the second quarter with a 33-22 lead.

The Warriors shot just 8 of 23 in the first half while their muddled defense conceded several fouls, including three on Curry in the first half.

But, as is often the case this season, Golden State regrouped in the third quarter and started a 14-3 run that was enough to wipe out the Celtics' lead.

In Game 2, a goal in the third quarter was enough to give the Dubs the win, but this time the Celtics found a way to fight back.

"I felt like our team stayed really balanced in those moments," Horford told reporters after the game. “As you know, that could have gone south quickly earlier in the year.

"But we stuck with it and just latched on and didn't panic and just kept playing."

Boston pushed back on an 11-6 run, reclaimed the lead and dropped to fourth and was never behind again.

Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Brown all contributed 20+ points, five rebounds and five assists, becoming the first trio of teammates to do so in an NBA Finals game since the trio of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Los Angeles Lakers managed Michael Cooper in 1984 - a streak that coincidentally ended in a seven-game win for the Celtics.

Will this NBA Finals be an echo of that 1984 result? Game