The Associated Press
Tom Withers
CLEVELAND–Kevin Durant released his deep shot–the one he always makes in his dreams.
As the ball hung in the air, his plan to win a championship, Golden State’s grip on the series, and Cleveland’s last-gasp attempt to defend its title–all of it was on the line.
Perfect.
Durant drained the shot of his professional life–a three-pointer over LeBron James with 45.3 seconds left–as the Warriors moved within one win of a title and payback by rallying to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-113 last night to take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors, pushed harder than they have been throughout their pristine post-season, trailed by six with three minutes left before Durant, criticized for leaving Oklahoma City last summer to chase a championship, brought them back–scoring 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter.
“He took over,” said Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr. “You can tell, he knows this is his moment.
“He’s been an amazing player in this league for a long time, and he senses this is his time, his moment, his team.”
With their 15th-straight win, the Warriors now have the longest post-season streak for any team in the four major professional sports.
But that means little to Golden State’s players who, with a victory in Game 4 tomorrow night, can exorcise those haunting demons from last June when the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the Finals to the Cavaliers.
No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit and it doesn’t appear any team is equipped to hang with these Warriors, who may go down as one of the best ever.
Still, Durant isn’t looking too far ahead.
“I’ve never been in this position before,” noted Durant, long accused of not being able to win the big game.
“I don’t want to relax,” he stressed. “It’s not over. This is a crazy game. Anything can happen.
“So I don’t want to relax or feel like it’s over. It’s not.”
Klay Thompson added 30 points and Stephen Curry had 26 for this California Dream Team now one win from its second title in three years.
If not for their meltdown last year, the Warriors, whose record-setting 73-win season got lost in the Finals aftermath, would be looking for a third-straight crown.
“We talked about it since The Finals last year that the last season was a very unique year, for a lot of different reasons, and we learned a lot,” said Curry.
“I think we have grown and matured just mentally of how to just pace yourself through this long year, and take every day as a new experience and something that you can kind of take control of,” he added.
James shook off a knee-buckling blow to the chin while scoring 39 points while Kyrie Irving added 38 for the Cavs, who took a 113-107 lead with 3:09 left on J.R. Smith’s three-pointer.
But Curry hit a lay-up, and then after both James and Irving missed for the Cavs, Durant dropped his “three”–a shot that could be the one most remembered in this magnificent run by the Warriors.
“All I was looking at was the bottom of the net,” Durant said.
I’ve been working on that shot my whole life,” he added. “To see that go in, that was liberating, man.
“We’ve got one more to go.”
After Golden State went up, Irving missed a “three” from his favourite spot on the right side.
The Warriors closed it out with four free throws in the final 12.9 seconds before celebrating briefly on the floor and then charging down the hallway to their locker-room.
After winning Games 1 and 2 by a combined 41 points at home, the Warriors had to scrap for all 48 minutes last night to take down the Cavs, who will need a similar effort to avoid being swept by a team with few–if any–weaknesses.
“It’s the most firepower I’ve played in my career,” noted James, who played all but two minutes.
“I’ve played against some great teams, but I don’t think no team has had this type of firepower.”
James and Irving were relentless in the second half, and it appeared they had done enough to get Cleveland over the top and perhaps back in the series.
Durant, though, was not going to be denied. Not after getting this close, not after enduring so much heat for turning his back on the Thunder, not with a chance to put the Cavaliers in an insurmountable hole.
The seven-footer finished 10-of-18 from the field with eight rebounds and four assists.
Curry, who has benefited more than any other player by Durant’s arrival and is healthy in these NBA Finals, added 13 rebounds and six assists.
