It was games like this that crystallize why the Golden State Warriors brought Kevin Durant into their fold.
With the Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson going a combined 7-of-27, including 3-15 from three, Kevin Durant picked up the slack, dropping 43 points and hitting a monumental three-pointer that proved to be the dagger.
Already down 2-0 and the series retuning to their house, the Cavaliers came out with a lot of energy, building as much as a 12-point lead in the opening quarter. Kevin Love and the oft maligned J.R. Smith each had seven points in the period. The Cavaliers hit glass hard, continuing a series-long trend of out rebounding the Warriors. Despite all those positives, the Cavaliers would only end the period up one, 29-28 and Kevin Durant scored 13 in the quarter.
Cleveland would outscore the Warriors in the second quarter, 29-24 to take a 58-52 lead headed into the half. Lebron James seemed focused on getting the other Cavaliers involved and dished out 9 assists in the first half to go along with scoring 14 points.
Outscoring the Cavaliers 31-23 in the third would give the Warriors a 83-81 lead headed into the fourth. A closely contested game would see Cleveland holding on to a one-point lead 97-96 after a pair of made Kevin Love free throws with 3:11 to go in the game. Stephen Curry would score five consecutive points to put the Warriors up 101-97 with 2:38 left. Lebron James would answer with a three of his to cut the deficit down to one. Andre Iguodala would convert a slam over Tristan Thompson off a feed from Durant to put Warriors up 103-100. After missed Cavalier shot, with 49.8 seconds Durant would calmly knock down a 33 foot three-pointer to put the Warriors up for good. Durant would finish with 43 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists.
Besides Durant, there were six other Warriors who scored in double figures. Stephen Curry had 11 while Klay Thomson , Draymond Green, JaVale McGee, and Jordan Bell each had 10.
Lebron James had another triple double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, but he missed 15 of his 28 shots. Kevin Love again had another game of at least 20 points and ten rebounds, contributing 20 points and 13 rebounds. J.R. Smith finished with 13 and Rodney Hood scored 15 points off the Cleveland bench.
The series reconvenes Friday for Game 4 at 9:00 P.M. EST.
