The Warriors took Game 3 from the Cleveland Cavaliers and are now one win away from being NBA Champions for the third time in the last four seasons.
That much has been expected for a while now, but the conversation on who could win Finals MVP this year as become much more compelling after Game 3.
Kevin Durant absolutely took over the game. He exploded for 43 points on 65 percent shooting and had a very nice night shooting from behind the arc, going 6-9.
Steph Curry, conversely, seemed to disappear in Game 3. He was just 3-16 overall and made just one three pointer (1-10). He still had six assists and five rebounds, but overall it was a horrible game from Curry, especially considering the rest of his finals performance.
Curry was the runaway favorite for Finals MVP after the first two games. He had 29 and 33 points in games 1 and 2, respectively. He also averaged 7 assists and 6 rebounds in those games.
This would have been a huge feat for Curry. The one major blemish on his career thus far has been his relative insufficiency in the Finals each of the last few years.
It felt like Durant had disappeared in Game 1: he was just 8-22 from the field and an abysmal 1-7 from 3pt land in the series opener.
The reigning Finals MVP was also forgettable in Game 2, though he did have to concede to Curry’s dominance in that game. And in each of the first two games, he still rebounded and passed pretty well.
With his explosion in Game 3—and Steph completely vanishing in Game 3—I think Durant has to be the favorite now for the Finals MVP award.
Ultimately, these guys just care about getting the ring, and the series MVP does not really matter to them. For the fans, though, it is the only point of contention remaining in the series, it appears.
Curry and KD have each had one major clunker game, one solid game, and one incredible game up to this point.
Game 4 (and any other subsequent games) could determine a lot more than just the champion that we all expected before the season started.
Featured Image via: Wikimedia Commons/Cyrus Saatsaz
