Golden State survived Cleveland’s best shot in Game 3, and the second NBA Finals sweep of LeBron James’ career is on the horizon.
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The Warriors prevailed, with a 118-113 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 3 Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena that keeps alive their chance for a ideal postseason.
Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the rest of the Warriors will be able to make that boast if they win Friday to complete the most impressive postseason run in major sports history.
Durant led the Warriors with 31 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including a four-for-seven mark from three-point range.
The Cavs set scoring records in the first half and then held on during a wild third and fourth quarter that included technical fouls, James jawing with fellow superstar Kevin Durant and Cleveland’s crowd roaring like a jet engine.
But as Golden State inches closer to a ideal 16-0 postseason record, putting this team in its proper historical perspective is becoming more and more interesting.
LeBron James scored 39 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and passed off nine assists while Kyrie Irving added 38 points to pace the Cavaliers, but James said he has never faced a “juggernaut” like the Warriors.
Curry hit a layup and after both James and Irving missed for the Cavs, Durant dropped his 3 – a shot that could be the one most remembered in this magnificent run by the Warriors. Game 4 is Friday at 9 p.m.at Quicken Loans Arena. “I played against some great teams, but I don’t think no team has had this type of firepower”. Every game he has been assigned with guarding the best guard on the court and his efforts are finally starting to get recognized in the Finals.
The Warriors now have the longest postseason winning streak in the history of all of the four major pro leagues in America, which are the NHL, MLB, and NFL.15-0 is a postseason start no National Basketball Association team has ever accomplished and this historic run is occurring a year after the Warriors won a regular-season record of 73 games. And tomorrow’s another important opportunity for us and for myself, obviously to continue the series, you know. They clearly wore down as the game went on, even if James insisted it wasn’t a factor. We’ve already seen the best the Cavs can give. “We want to finish it here”. He added that after they had won the Eastern Conference title they were going to face a huge task in the NBA Finals.
After a Game 1 loss, Cleveland kept pace with Golden State for a little more than half of Game 2.
But it’s going to take all that and the same stunning level of play they got from James and Irving on Wednesday to get there. “He’s been an unbelievable player in this league for a long time, and I think he senses this is his moment, his team”.
“I even dropped my mouthpiece because I was so uncoordinated in that sense”, Curry said of his odd celebration.
LeBron James didn’t score over the final 4:28 of the game.
“I look at it as we lost the Finals, but we ended up with KD”, Green said.
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If Cleveland decides to trade either Love or Thompson to go towards a smaller lineup against the Warriors, then it plays right into the Celtics hands.
