At this point it’s safe to say that most, if not all are eagerly awaiting the third installment of the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Since Kawhi Leonard re-aggregated his ankle injury, this series has lost its buzz. The Spurs are well coached, but the Warriors are on another level and today that showed.
Kevin Durant was the star of Game 3, but the Warriors as a whole just simply put their foot down and came away with a comfortable win. I don’t expect Leonard to suit up in Game 4, there is no point with the series pretty much in the bag.
Here’s the breakdown for each quarter:
1st Quarter
The Spurs came out and fought from the start, ending the first quarter with a four point lead. They went to Aldridge early and often, while the Warriors got off to a slow start. It could have been a lot worse, but JaVale McGee was very active and aggressive on the offensive end. He was able to get some easy buckets and in the process he made sure the Warriors didn’t dig themselves in a big hole. The San Antonio crowd was a factor, giving this team the confidence and energy to outplay the Warriors early on. After one, you felt the Spurs had at least a shot at keeping it close.
2nd Quarter
Then the second quarter began and everything started to return back to normal. In an instant the Warriors pulled off a 12-0 run and next thing you know, the Warriors are up 9-10 points. The shots started falling and they were finally playing with a bit of rhythm. The Spurs deserve credit, they could have easily came out and folded, but they put up a fight. The Warriors outscored the Spurs by 13 in the second quarter, giving them a nine point advantage at the break.
3rd Quarter
The Spurs once again came out of the locker room with more energy and after three minutes it was a four point game. You kept getting the feeling like the Spurs had one final run in them to overtake the Warriors, but they couldn’t get closer than four. After buckets from Steph Curry and Patrick McCaw, the lead was back up to nine. With about five minutes left in the quarter, Kevin Durant started heating up. He hit a bucket and a foul, along with back to back triples, giving the Warriors a 16-point lead. It could have gone either way, but Durant made it a point to put this team away and you could feel the fans in San Antonio accepting the fact that the Warriors were about to take a three game series lead.
4th Quarter
The Warriors entered the fourth with a 12 point lead, having already scored 100 points in three periods. Both teams traded baskets in the early minutes, but after a David West and-one and Ian Clark triple, the Warriors were up 16. The scoring stalled by both teams, but the Warriors were able to keep that comfortable double digit lead. A Curry triple with about three minutes left took the lead to 18 and Mike Brown started bringing in the reserves. Shaun Livingston, McCaw, West and Clark were on the floor and they were able to keep the Spurs from a miraculous comeback. This series is over, it’s time to start thinking about the Cavs.