Kevin Durant, Warriors Beat Cavaliers in Game 3; LeBron James Triple-Doubles
Kevin Durant willed the Golden State Warriors to a 110-102 Game 3 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday night to push the defending champions within one win of a repeat.
Durant, who played hero in Game 3 a year ago, made his bid for a second straight Finals MVP with a playoff-career-high 43 points (15-of-23 shooting), including a pull-up dagger from virtually the same spot on the left wing that he sank the Cavs from a year ago. Those efforts were especially welcome since Stephen Curry was in a funk all evening and logged 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting, including 1-of-10 from three.
LeBron James (33 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) registered his 10th career Finals triple-double, and although he received steady support from Kevin Love (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Rodney Hood (15 points), Durant was on another level and sent the Cavs spiraling toward the inevitable.
Home Court Can't Save Cavs Even with Revitalized Hood
The Cavaliers entered Game 3 with eight straight postseason wins to their name at Quicken Loans Arena, and they received all of the contributions necessary to make it nine.
LeBron—although a bit inefficient by his high standards—triple-doubled. Kevin Love was a man possessed in the first half and allowed Cleveland to establish a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass. JR Smith scored a series-high 13 points after posting 15 in Games 1 and 2 combined.
And most importantly, Rodney Hood—who had played a total of seven minutes over the Cavs' past seven playoff games—made the most of a long-awaited opportunity and dropped 15 points (7-of-11 shooting) in 26 minutes off the bench:
But even with Curry struggling and Klay Thompson limited to 10 points on 11 shots, the balance the Cavaliers have long craved wasn't enough as the Warriors outscored them by nine points over the final three minutes of regulation.
In that moment, it became clear once again: The Cavs have to be nearly perfect to sneak past the Warriors. Shots have to fall at higher clips from beyond the arc, and defensive lapses need to be the exception, not the norm.
"The margin for error is very slim," James told reporters after the loss. "It's almost like playing the Patriots."
KD Shows He's Warriors' Engine Amid Team's Game 3 Struggles
Kevin Durant's bona fides as an alpha have been questioned ever since he signed with the Warriors and started to infringe on the Bay Area territory that used to be reserved solely for Stephen Curry.
And sure, he doesn't turn games in an instant the way Curry does. No one in the NBA can. There aren't three-point avalanches, and a palpable energy doesn't course through the crowd every time the ball finds his hands in transition.
When Durant goes into takeover mode, the aesthetic is totally different. There isn't a tide-turning haymaker that hits you in the span of 90 seconds. Rather, he lands body shot after body shot in relentless fashion. He bludgeons you with his full bag—threes, determined line drives and post-ups—and there's no letting up.
In short, he's the constant the Warriors need when Curry can't kick it into fifth gear.
That much bared itself out in Game 3.
Durant was steady all night, dropping 24 points in the first half and 19 in the second half, and like any good prize fighter, he wore the Cavs down with a series of bruising punches before he knocked them out clean with the Rucker Park pull-up for the second straight year:
"My teammates believe that I can set the tone, that I can dictate a lot out there on the court," Durant told USA Today's Sam Amick before Game 3. "I just try to do my best to be great in those situations, to be the best version of me in those situations. If I overthink too much, not make it more than what it is. Just be simple with everything that I do, and do my job, whatever Coach needs me to do, whatever my teammates need me to do."
On Wednesday, they needed him to deliver—and he did just that.
Are We Watching LeBron's Cleveland Swan Song?
No NBA team has ever blown a 3-0 series lead in the playoffs, let alone the Finals.
All of which is to say: The Cavaliers are staring down the inevitable, just as they were a year ago when Durant morphed into the Slim Reaper and slashed their playoff hopes with his sickle in Game 3 to hand the Warriors a 3-0 lead.
But beyond the inevitable in the short term lies something else: uncertainty in the long term.
Assuming James declines his player option, as expected, the Cavaliers will be left to vie for his services on the open market.
And at this point, they can't make a compelling pitch from an on-court standpoint.
The sentimental aspect of staying in Cleveland aside, the Cavaliers don't have the cap room necessary to make the improvements that would give them a supporting cast akin to the ones James could join in Houston or Philadelphia (or perhaps Los Angeles, depending on who the Lakers are able to add in free agency).
In fact, it's because of a (warranted) trade deadline dealing spree that they're stuck. George Hill is on the books for $19 million next season, Tristan Thompson is owed $17.5 million, Jordan Clarkson is owed $12.5 million, and JR Smith will rake in $14.7 million.
With those deals clogging the balance sheet, it would be hard to fault James if he didn't want to run things back. His workload has been heavy enough as it is, and superhuman as he may seem, it might be nice to shoulder a smaller workload as he prepares to turn 34 in December.
The Cavs may steal Game 4 on Friday, but as was the case in 2017, it's a matter of when—not if—the Warriors will send them packing.
And when they do, all eyes will be on LeBron as he grapples with another decision that could shake up the NBA landscape.
What's Next?
The Warriors will set their sights on back-to-back titles when Game 4 tips off Friday night at 9 p.m. ET. If the Cavaliers keep their season alive, Game 5 will take place Monday night at Oracle Arena.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
