The Raptors have gotten great play from their entire rotation, but Fred VanVleet has been particularly effective, providing deep shooting on offense and doing his best to harass Curry into bad shots on the other end.

3rd Quarter: The Raptors are beating the Warriors at their game: 3-pointers.

Marc Stein: This is a must-win game whether the Raptors will admit it or not.

Toronto’s 3-point shooting (11 of 25) could well prove to be the difference if the visitors hold on for a win in the first finals road game in Raptors franchise history. Teams that won the percentage battle from the 3-point line were only 6-4 in the conference finals, down from 50-16 in the first two rounds of the playoffs. But in the finals, Toronto fared better from long distance in Game 1 and is doing it again in Game 3 as the final quarter approaches. Kawhi Leonard’s 3 inside the final four minutes of the third quarter hiked the Raptors’ lead back into double digits (83-71) after Golden State drew within seven.

3rd Quarter: The LeBron record Curry doesn’t want

Stephen Curry, with two men in his face, hit a corner 3-pointer to get him to 32 points with 6:42 left in the third quarter, narrowing Toronto’s lead to 73-65.

Stats worth remembering: The most points in a finals loss was the 51 LeBron James scored in Game 1 of the 2018 series against Golden State. The most points scored in a finals win was 61 by Elgin Baylor of the Los Angeles Lakers, who also had 22 rebounds in Game 5 of the 1962 finals against the Boston Celtics.

3rd Quarter: Toronto goes on a run of its own.

The Raptors started Fred VanVleet in the third quarter, likely as a result of Danny Green’s foul trouble, and Toronto got off to quick 6-0 start with baskets by Kawhi Leonard and Marc Gasol and a pair of free throws by Gasol.

That seemed to wake Golden State up. Andre Iguodala answered that run with a 3-pointer and Curry hit shots on consecutive possessions, getting them back into things. And while Toronto continued to press, and has continued to shoot well from 3-point range, Golden State has yet to wilt.

Curry is already up to 29 points, but Kyle Lowry has 18 and every member of Toronto’s starting lineup other than Green has at least 12. Unless Golden State can recreate its defense from the end of the second quarter, the overwhelming talent advantage for the Raptors is going to be too much.