Kevin Durant showed why the Warriors are virtually unbeatable
When it was all said and done on Wednesday, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind who the best player on the court was in the Golden State Warriors’ 110-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It wasn’t Cavs superstar LeBron James, even though he recorded a triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
And despite their team’s victory, it wasn’t Warriors guards Stephen Curry (11 points on 3-of-16 shooting) or Klay Thompson (10 points). It wasn’t even Golden State power forward Draymond Green, who scored 10 points and had a team-high nine assists.
No, without a doubt, the reason the Warriors went up 3-0 in the NBA Finals was forward Kevin Durant, who really did it all. Durant scored a whopping 43 points on 15-of-23 shooting, while pulling down a team-high 13 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Durant was amazing the entire game, but when it came down to the wire, he was at his best.
With under a minute to go in the game and the Warriors clinging to a 103-100 lead, Durant hit an incredible shot that essentially killed Cleveland’s hopes and dreams.
The shot clock was winding down as Durant dribbled behind the arc, but instead of passing, he opted to take a long, contested three-pointer.
Swish.
KDTREY! 😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/m1IaARjJd7
— NBA (@NBA) June 7, 2018
With that, the Warriors were up by six, and the Cavaliers were done.
“That was amazing what he did out there tonight,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game, referring to Durant’s incredible performance, per ESPN. “Some of those shots, I don’t think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible.”
Durant was indeed incredible, and his performance essentially showed why the Cavaliers never really had a chance in this series.
On a night when Curry and Thompson didn’t do much offensively — in fact, no one else on the team scored more than 11 points — Durant carried his team.
And that, of course, is why having four All-Stars on your roster makes you unbeatable. Because even if one or more of your star players is having an off night, there’s someone else to pick up the slack.
In Game 2, for example, Curry was the star of the show, hitting nine threes on his way to a 33-point performance. Curry barely did anything on Wednesday night, but in the end it didn’t matter because the Warriors had Durant.
In Durant, Curry, Thompson and even Green, Golden State has four players who are capable of taking over the game.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have one player. And though he might be the best in the world, there’s only so much James can do. That’s why, despite an all-time great performance in Game 1, a near triple-double in Game 2 and an actual triple-double in Game 3, James is facing elimination in Game 4.
“You guys asked me this last year, what was the difference between the Warriors the previous year and this year, and what was my answer?” James told reporters after the game, according to SB Nation.
“All right. There it is. Kevin Durant was my answer. He’s one of the best players that I’ve ever played against that this league has ever seen. His ability to handle the ball, shoot the ball, make plays at his length, his size, his speed. So there it is.”
James is right. Having a superstar player (Durant), in addition to another superstar (Curry) and two stars (Green and Thompson) makes you virtually unbeatable.
The Cavaliers may win a game or two in this series, but unfortunately for James and company, Golden State will eventually prevail.
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