CLEVELAND — In one swooping pull-up jumper from the top of the key, Kevin Durant effectively won the Warriors a championship, won himself a Finals MVP trophy, validated his decision to join Golden State and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Books will be written about Durant’s coldblooded ending in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, a stunning 118-113 comeback victory that gave his Warriors a 3-0 lead in the series. KD launched the shot with 45.3 seconds left while trailing by two. It was entirely risky. It could’ve been a play we looked back on in a few weeks as to why the Cavaliers fought their way back into the series.
“We know in that situation to get that man the rock,” Klay Thompson marveled.
As they say, shooters gonna shoot. After he made the basket, Durant gritted his teeth together like a savage. He knew he was inflicting so much pain on the entire city of Cleveland. Roster changes are imminent for the Cavaliers, and even with more firepower a year from now, the realization of Durant’s dominance has been mentally paralyzing for fans and even the players. This is a shot people will be talking about 10, 15, 20 years from now.
“It hurts,” Kyrie Irving, who scored 39 points in possibly the best game of his career, said.
Durant — as his critics will continually point out — got plenty of help. Steph Curry scored 26 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and was sniping from the outside. Thompson had his best game of the postseason, scoring 30 points, carrying the offense in the first half and locking down Irving in the final minutes. Andre Iguodala stifled LeBron James down the stretch, stripping the ball from his hands with 9 seconds remaining. It was a strict reminder that, of course, this isn’t the two-man show KD operated with in Oklahoma City.
What’s most wild about this win is that this was the best game the Cavaliers could’ve played, an A+ effort according to LeBron. The Warriors turned the ball over 18 times. Draymond Green was in foul trouble all game long and was essentially a non-factor. Nobody on the bench outside of Iguodala really performed up to their standards.
It’s Durant who continues to be the greatest stabilizer on the court. It’s Durant who is confident owning the role of closer. It’s Durant simultaneously playing center on defense and shooting guard on offense. It’s Durant who keeps ripping the Cavs’ hearts out.
The Warriors went on an 11-0 run to close the game. KD scored 7 of those points. In the huddle during timeouts, Steve Kerr kept clamoring that the Cavaliers were going to get tired. There’s no way LeBron and Irving could sustain an isolation style of basketball for 48 minutes. Durant waited and waited and then delivered a knockout punch basketball fans will never forget.
“He took over,” Kerr said. “You can tell, he knows this is his moment. He’s been an amazing player in this league for a long time, and I think he’s — he senses this is his time, his moment, his team.”
The irony of this whole series were the headline-dominating discussions in the weeks leading up to it. The LeBron-Michael Jordan chatter was a major storyline all postseason, with James even acknowledging he is closing in on the greatest of all-time stature. The Warriors were the Vegas favorites, but everyone was waiting for LeBron to tear down their mighty wall once again.
Completely worn down at the podium in the wee hours of Thursday morning, James understands he’s been defeated. Durant has outscored him 31-11 in the fourth quarter of this series. Durant is making all of the clutch plays. It was King James who KD decided to launch the shot right over.
“I seen him getting ready to pull up, he uses a rhythm dribble to get a good look, and when KD shoots, he falls forward, and I wanted to get a contest,” LeBron said of the shot heard ’round the world. “The last thing I want to do is foul a jump shooter. So I wanted to jump and contest it, but I know he — when he shoots, he kind of leans forward a little bit. So I just stayed there, high hands, contested, and he made it.
“I gave everything that I had, so at times throughout the game I was tired, but that’s just because I was just playing as hard as I could.”
LeBron’s everything isn’t enough anymore. And that’s a calming presence for the Warriors — particularly Curry. Not having to worry about going blow-for-blow with the most athletic player in league history has given the two-time MVP the leeway to let the game come to him.
Should the Warriors close out the series in Game 4 on Friday night, so much will be made about a perfect 16-0 record. Some will say this is the greatest team of all-time, others will say the Warriors won this title last July, and not in June.
Composed as he’s ever been, Durant refuses to acknowledge this series is over.
“I never been in this position before,” Durant said. ‘I don’t want to relax. 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. And I’m just trying to enjoy this moment and not — trying not to look in the future or in the past, just try to just stay in the present and enjoy this moment and for what it’s worth.”
Welcome to this position, Kevin Durant. You’re about to be an NBA Champion.
