The Golden State Warriors took a 2-1 series lead in their opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets following their 104-93 win in Game 3. A key factor in the Warriors Game 3 win was the play of Gary Payton II. Payton didn’t play so well during the first two games in Houston, and it was little help from his father, Gary Payton Sr., that helped with his Game 3 turnaround.

Gary Payton II made his presence felt during the Warriors’ Game 3 win against the Rockets. He finished with 16 points and three rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. He shot 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from the three-point line. And he got a little pep talk of sorts from Gary Sr., as per Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape.

“He came in and was tough with [the Rockets],” said Gary Sr. “When he turned down two shots, I got up and said, ‘Hey shoot the ball.’ And when he started shooting the ball, he hits it. When he is wide open he’s going to knock it down. He can get a lot of easy baskets. I tell him, ‘You got to make these guys play you, man.’ If you don’t go and punish them for doing what they do, it’s not going to work. But he went out there and punished them.”

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During the Warriors’ first two games of the series, Payton took a combined nine shots, six in Game 1 and three in Game 2. In Game 3, he took nine shots total. Payton is a key player for the Warriors and will need to continue to have a big series for them to advance past the Rockets.

In the regular season, Payton appeared in 62 games for the Warriors, including 11 starts, at just about 15 minutes per game. He averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists with splits of 57.4 percent shooting from the field, 32.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 71.1 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Payton played a key role during the Warriors’ 2022 championship run, returning from an injury earlier in the playoffs to provide a major impact against the Boston Celtics. He’s been one of the Warriors’ best defensive players too.