When the Spurs rallied and the Warriors needed a boost, Kevin Durant took over and sparked a third-quarter run that essentially put the game away.<\/b>
\nSAN ANTONIO \u2014 Five takeaways from the Golden State Warriors\u2019 120-108 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. The Warriors lead the series 3-0 and can complete the sweep in Game 4 in San Antonio on Monday.
Warriors hero: The six-degrees-of-Cleveland component is front and center now, with the Warriors\u2019 work in earning a third consecutive matchup with the Cavaliers almost complete. But Kevin Durant is the new character in this rivalry tale, the difference maker who showed yet again in Game 3 why these Warriors will be so much tougher to take down this time around.
Right about the time the Warriors needed a boost, with the Spurs showing some fight and cutting the lead to four early in the third quarter, Durant took over. Nineteen of his 33 points came in a 10-minute stretch during the third quarter, with Durant hitting five of six shots and getting to the free-throw line eight times in all (with seven makes) .
\u00ab\u00a0The run he had in the third was a clinic of scoring the basketball, \u00a0\u00bb said Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, a fellow expert in the field of offensive expertise. \u00ab\u00a0He got in the paint, finished at the rim, hit a tough fadeaway, a one-footer, was in pick-and-roll situations a lot being able to play-make and create his own shot.
\u00ab\u00a0He really answered the bell in that moment for us. At that point, it\u2019s just like anybody who gets the hot hand \u2014 just give them the ball and get out the way and let him do what he does. His versatility demands a lot of attention. It is fun to watch him get hot like that from the three-point line all the way to the basket, and you just never know how he\u2019s going to do it.\u00a0\u00bb
As was the case in the regular season, Durant has picked his spots to take over in the playoffs. But as the numbers show, he clearly has a comfort level with this group when it comes to scoring.
Regular season: 25.1 points per game on an average of 16.5 attempts (53.7% shooting overall, 37.5% from three-point range, 87.5% from the line) .
Playoffs (11 games in all) : 24.8 points per game on 16.1 attempts (53.7%, 40.9%, 85.5%) .
\u00ab\u00a0He got it going, \u00a0\u00bb Warriors forward Draymond Green said of Durant. \u00ab\u00a0That\u2019s the luxury of having so many guys who can score the ball like that. One guy may not have it going, but another guy (does) and you can kind of ride that wave until it ends. And it pretty much lasted the entire quarter.\u00a0\u00bb
Spurs goat: At least Gregg Popovich kept his LaMarcus Aldridge commentary short this time.
One game after the Spurs coach was highly critical of the forward who simply had to step up with franchise centerpiece Kawhi Leonard on the shelf with an ankle injury, Popovich was asked if Aldridge (18 points, five rebounds) had made amends in Game 3.
\u00ab\u00a0Sure, \u00a0\u00bb Popovich said before concluding his postgame news conference.
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It wasn\u2019 t as ugly as his eight-point, four-rebound outing in Game 2, but it wasn\u2019 t pretty either. Aldridge missed 10 of 17 shots, struggled to exploit the Warriors\u2019 double teams by finding the open man and was generally underwhelming at a time when he was needed most.
Cavs Watch continues: No matter what the Warriors might say, they\u2019 re watching the Cavs\u2019 every move right now as this game of everything-you-can-do-we-can-do-better continues. And say what you will about these playoffs being boring, but the payoff for all this dominance might be a Finals clash the likes of which we\u2019 ve never seen. At last tally, the Warriors have won all 11 of their playoff games by an average of 16.5 points, while the Cavs have won all 10 of theirs by an average of 13.4.
\u00ab\u00a0I mean, we know what the situation is (in relation to the Cavs) , but a good team focuses on what\u2019s in front of you, \u00a0\u00bb Curry said. \u00ab\u00a0It doesn\u2019 t matter, really, what they\u2019 re doing until we close this thing out. So I\u2019 m obviously watching (Game 3 on Sunday) \u2014 I\u2019 m a fan of basketball. You understand what goes on in that series, but it doesn\u2019 t matter until we get this fourth win. It\u2019s a clich\u00e9 answer, but it\u2019s the truth.\u00a0\u00bb
Forgot about Klay: Only on this kind of super team could a two-time All-Star struggle like Klay Thompson and have the record remain unblemished.
Anyone who appreciates good defense hasn\u2019 t lost track of Thompson\u2019s efforts this postseason, but the sixth-year shooting guard hasn\u2019 t been himself on the offensive end. In all, his scoring has dipped from 22.3 points per game in the regular season to 14.8 in the playoffs (on just 39.6% shooting overall and 37.7% from beyond the arc) . His 17-point outing in Game 3 wasn\u2019 t half bad by his recent standards, as he hit seven of 15 shots overall and was 3-for-6 from three-point range.
Yet as Green detailed afterward, Thompson\u2019s value remains even when he\u2019s not scoring like the guy who put up 60 points in three quarters against the Indiana Pacers on Dec. 5.
\u00ab\u00a0I think it\u2019s coming, \u00a0\u00bb Green said of a big game for Thompson. \u00ab\u00a0One thing we\u2019 re not going to do is we\u2019 re not going to force it. … Klay has been great for us. He\u2019s been locking up on the defensive end. And at the end of the day, he still brings (spacing) to the floor. You can\u2019 t help off of him, or we\u2019 re going to hit him and he\u2019s going to knock them down. The spacing that he allows everybody else to play with, him just being out there is huge. It doesn\u2019 t always show up in the stat sheet.\u201d
Thompson agrees.
\u00ab\u00a0I always feel like I\u2019 m close (to a big game) , \u00a0\u00bb Thompson said. \u00ab\u00a0Most importantly, we are 11-0, trying to make it 16-0. It is going to be very difficult, but we are on the way and we just have got to stay patient and not really worry about statistics. I almost averaged 25 points a game last year in the postseason, and look what it did for us. We lost. I don\u2019 t care about that. And if we win the championship, that is all that matters.\u00a0\u00bb
#3-1 lead: You\u2019 d think the Warriors wouldn\u2019 t want to talk about last year’s Finals collapse ever again. But every so often, when a reporter assumes too much about the direction they\u2019 re going and the idea that they\u2019 ve become virtually unbeatable, they\u2019 re the first ones to bring up the 3-1 lead they blew against Cleveland a year ago.
When asked if it seemed inevitable that it would be Cavs-Warriors again in the Finals, Green wasn\u2019 t about to go there.
\u00ab\u00a0Nah, it\u2019s not inevitable, \u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0We lost a lead before, so we\u2019 ve got to come out Monday and try to close this thing up.\u00a0\u00bb
Follow Sam Amick on Twitter @sam_amick .<\/p>\n

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