Durant finds himself in prime position to earn back-to-back Finals MVPs
CLEVELAND » In a classic bit of trolling earlier in this series, Warriors fans chanted “M-V-P! M-V-P!” at JR Smith, whose boneheaded play in Game 1 squandered a rare shot at victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
But when the real voting takes place — perhaps as early as tonight — the showdown for NBA Finals MVP will come down to a trio of future Hall of Famers.
That’s front-runner Kevin Durant, contender Stephen Curry and extreme long shot LeBron James, whose team is in jeopardy of being swept.
If James wins, good luck trying to hand over the trophy, Durant said.
“I’m sure LeBron wouldn’t accept that,’’ he said. “I mean, he’s a winner. I don’t look at him as a guy that would be OK with that.”
The series isn’t over, of course, but that day draws near. Of the 13 previous teams to take a 3- 0 series lead, eight won the NBA Finals in a sweep. Game 4 is tonight in Cleveland.
To date, Jerry West is the only player to capture the NBA Finals MVP for a losing team, in 1969. And that series went seven games.
But James is averaging nearly a triple- double in the series with 37.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 10.7 assists. And he’s earned votes in a losing cause before. In 2015, when the Warriors won in Game6, James got four of the 11 MVP votes; the other seven went to Andre Iguodala.
Durant, though, has the clearest path to the MVP trophy after a virtuoso 43-point performance in Game 3. His cold-blooded
30-footer in the final minute will go down as the signature shot of this series.
Durant also added 13 rebounds and seven assists, shouldering a massive load on a night when Curry and Klay Thompson were faltering.
When it was over, a reporter asked James how Durant had changed the complexion of the Warriors- Cleveland rivalry.
“You asked me this last year, what was the difference between the Warriors the previous year and this year, and what was my answer?” James said. He paused. “There it is. Kevin Du- rant was my answer. He’s one of the best players that I’ve ever played against, that this league has ever seen.”
That certainly sounds like Finals MVP-type stuff, so Durant looks poised to join elite company. Only five players have won backto-back Finals MVPs.
Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls had two separate strings of three straight (1991-93 and 1996-98). Shaquille O’Neal (2000- 02) also won it three straight times for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Others to win it two consecutive seasons are James (2012-13), Kobe Bryant (2009-10) of the Lakers and Hakeem Olajuwon (1994-95) of the Houston Rockets.
Durant won it last year by averaging 35.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He’s right back at it in 2018, averaging 31.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists.
And in both years, he delivered a classic shot: In 2017, Durant drilled a 3-pointer fromthe left wing as a dagger in Game 3. He did the same thing Wednesday, almost fromthe same spot, except this time it was even farther out.
“You definitely tip your hat,’’ James said. “I mean, that’s what he does. He’s a scorer. You know, he’s an assassin, and that was one of those assassin plays right there.”
Durant finished Game 3 with the third-highest point total by a Warriors player in a Finals game, behind 55- and 44-point games by Rick Barry, both in 1967. Durant’s total was the highest for a Warriors player in a Finals game on the road.
“There are just a handful of guys in the NBA who can kind of get their shot whenever they want, and Kevin happens to be one,’’ Warriors coach Steve Kerr said before practice Thursday. “And he happens to be 6-11 with long arms. It’s almost unfair what he can do.”
Durant has scored at least 25 points in each of his 13 Finals games. Only two other players in NBA history scored at least 25 points in each of their first 13 Finals games: O’Neal (first 21) and Jordan (first 20).
Curry emerged as an early MVP candidate after leading the Warriors in scoring in Games 1 and 2. Along the way he set a Finals single-game record with nine 3-pointers. For the series, he’s averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
But his MVP chances plummeted after a clunker in Game 3 (3 of 16 from the field). After the game, cameras caught Curry unleashing some emotions by yelling into his jersey.
“I always say I’m my biggest critic, and I would have loved to have made a couple more shots earlier in the game,’’ Curry said.
“So sometimes you have to get rid of those thoughts and understand there is another opportunity on Friday to rectify that. But walking off the floor up 3- 0, having won a game on the road, there was definitely a sense of relief and just getting those emotions out.”
In theory, the MVP award is still up for grabs. But Durant might want to clear out some space in his trophy room, just in case.