Warriors put Cavaliers on brinks of sweep
Durant torches Cleveland for 43 as Golden State holds LeBron in check to take 3-0 Finals lead
Hold off on giving the NBA Finals MVP trophy to Golden State’s Steph Curry. Kevin Durant raised his hand and wants a say.
The Warriors star scored 43 points, including 24 in the first half, as the Warriors took a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead in the Finals with a 110-102 victory against Cleveland on Wednesday.
“That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.”
No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in league history, and the Warriors can put the finishing touches on their third championship in four seasons with a victory Friday in Game 4.
With Steph Curry struggling from the field, in foul trouble and spending a portion of the second half in the locker room, Durant carried the Warriors.
His 32-foot three-pointer with 49.8 seconds left gave Golden State a 106100 lead that proved too much for the Cavs to overcome. That shot was almost in the same spot as his three-pointer in Game 3 of last season’s Finals that put Golden State ahead for good 114-113 with 45.3 seconds to go.
Durant also had 13 rebounds and seven assists and was unstoppable offensively, following up his 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting in Game 2. In his past two games, he is 25-for-37 (67.6%) from the field. Here’s what transpired in Game 3:
1. Durant steals the show
Warriors star Kevin Durant prevented a Cavs blowout in the first half. With Warriors not named Durant shooting 35.5% in the first half, Durant made 7-for-10 shots from the field, including 3-for-4 on threes, and made 7-for-7 free throws for 24 points.
The Warriors needed that. In the first half, Curry was 1-for-8 shooting with three fouls, and Klay Thompson was 2-for-7. Draymond Green also had three fouls in the first half.
Without Durant’s performance – which was his first Finals game with at least 40 points – the Warriors lose the game.
“I just like the way he’s attacking. He’s not waiting around,” Kerr said. “He’s attacking right away on the catch, and it’s devastating to have to guard that.”
2. James’s triple-double not enough
LeBron James collected his 23rd playoff triple double (33 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds) and his 110th playoff game with 30 or more points, passing Michael Jordan for first place on that list.
James, who played 46 minutes and 52 seconds, also had two steals and two blocks, but was just 1-for-6 on three-pointers.
James, playing in his 238th playoff game, needed more games than Jordan, who appeared in 179 games.
It was James’s 12th 30-point game this postseason, including fourth in his last five games.
James also moved into second place on the all-time Finals scoring list in Game 2 on Sunday. Already the league’s all-time leading scorer in the postseason, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
3. Hood gives Cavs decent minutes
Rodney Hood has struggled since coming to Cleveland from Utah in a trade deadline move in February, and those struggles continued into the playoffs.
But in need of a lift off the bench – this isn’t a good series for shooter Kyle Korver – Cleveland coach Ty Lue said he planned to give Hood a chance in Game 3, and Hood made a noticeable contribution with 15 points and six rebounds.
“I’m very happy for Rodney,” Lue said. “Played a good game. He was aggressive. Attacking the basket, and he gives you a guy who can shoot the basketball from three and also put the ball on the floor. I thought he did a good job attacking tonight. Gave us a lot of momentum throughout the course of the game.”
4. Iguodala returns
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala, who hasn’t played since Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, made his presence felt late in the fourth quarter.
With Golden State leading 98-97, Iguodala stole the ball from Kevin Love and Curry hit his first three-pointer of the game, giving the Warriors a 101-97 lead with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter. Iguodala’s dunk with 1:37 to play gave Golden State a 103-100 lead.
He finished with eight points and two rebounds, and Golden State outscored Cleveland by 14 points with Iguodala on the court.
“Typical Andre line,” Kerr said. “You might look at it and go, ‘Yeah, he had eight points and whatever.’ But he gives us another guy to guard LeBron, and he gives us another guy to settle us down and keep us on the right path.”
5. Threes fail Cavs
In a game in which Curry was 3-for16 from the field and 1-for-10 on three-pointers, the Cavs did not take advantage from distance. Cleveland made just 29% of their threes – nine total – and just 3-for-17 in the second half.
Love, who had another fine offensive performance with 20 points and 13 rebounds, was 3-for-7 from deep, but J.R. Smith was 3-for-10 and Kyle Korver, who’s shooting woes continued in this series, was 0-for-2. (USA Today/TNS)