Warriors rebound, a win from history
CLEVELAND — The Golden State Warriors survived the Cleveland Cavaliers’ powerful Game 3 counterpunch and are now just a game from the most sparkling run to an NBA title in history.
Trailing for much of the second half, the Warriors clawed back in the fourth quarter and beat the Cavaliers 118-113, bumping them up 3-0 in these NBA Finals, pushing them to 15-0 in these playoffs.
LeBron James was a human freight train the entire night, going off for 39 points and coming one assist shy of a triple-double. And unlike the first two games, he finally had help from his co-star, Kyrie Irving, who scored 38 on a number of slithery moves and creative finishes at the rim.
But in the end, it was the Warriors’ stars who survived a raucous environment, a two-pronged offensive attack and a seven-point fourth-quarter hole, erasing many of the demons that plagued them from a season ago.
Steph Curry went for 26 points, a team-high 13 rebounds, six assists and only one turnover. Klay Thompson nailed six of the Warriors’ 16 3s and hitting 30 points for the first time in this postseason.
Kevin Durant (31 points, eight rebounds, four assists), drove the Warriors home in the final sequence. With less than two minutes left, the Warriors trailed by four and their undefeated playoff run was in peril. But with 1:15 left, Durant powerfully pushed Kevin Love back on a drive, got to about 12 feet out and planted a floater to pull the Warriors within two.
On the ensuing possession, Kyle Korver got a decent look at a 3 from the corner, which would have put the Cavaliers back up five. But the sharpshooter bricked the shot.
Durant climbed high for the defensive rebound and then, six seconds later, made maybe the biggest shot of his storied career.
Durant pushed the rebound into the frontcourt and pulled up for a deep transition 3. The shot gave the Warriors a one-point lead with 45 seconds left.
On the next possession, Irving tried to go to work on Thompson but fell short with his seventh brick that came with 26 seconds left. Curry grabbed the rebound, his 13th, and Durant eventually received the ball and absorbed the foul. He hit both free throws, giving up seven points in 63 seconds — a 7-0 run that essentially won the game. The Warriors led by three.
But they still needed one more stop. After a timeout, the Cavaliers drew up a play to get James a corner 3. James navigated into that spot, caught, turned and set up to fire. But Andre Iguodala made the biggest defensive play of the night, stripping James and knocking it off his leg out of bounds. Curry got the ensuing inbounds, absorbed the foul and made the game-sealing free throws.