That's the beauty of having 2 of the league's best scorers ever — one can have an off night and the other can just pick up the slack.
Kevin Durant scored a playoff career-high 43 points, including a bold 3-pointer from way behind the arc, as the Golden State Warriors escaped with a 110-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night (Thursday, Manila time).
Despite a cold shooting night by Steph Curry, Golden State was still able to pull off the victory.
That's because Durant was lights out, hitting at will from every spot on the floor.
His sixth triple proved to be the dagger, a 33-footer that gave the Warriors a 106-100 cushion with less than 50 seconds remaining.
Draymond Green iced the victory with a one-handed dunk off a Curry pass
The Warriors can end the series in Game 4, which stays in Cleveland, Saturday morning (Manila time).
Durant stepped up at the perfect time for the Warriors, who saw Curry struggle mightily with his shot.
After hitting 9 3-pointers to set a new NBA Finals record in Game 2, Curry clanked his first 9 attempts from downtown in Game 3.
He buried his 10th try, though, a critical conversion that made it 101-97 in Golden State's favor just when things got tight and both teams were exchanging baskets.
But Durant virtually settled the outcome with the cold-blooded triple.
And his contributions in other departments weren't anything to sneeze at.
He also finished with 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Overall, he shot 15 of 23 from the field, 6 of 9 from long distance, and 7-of-7 free throws.
Curry, who missed 13 of 16 shots overall, finished with 11 points, while 4 other players scored 10.
LeBron James tallied a triple-double (33 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds), but missed a number of baskets that he normally makes.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, James' triple-double is the 10th of his NBA Finals career, the first player ever to have that many in this stage of the season.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
