NBA Finals - Game 3

Welcome to another edition of WhoReps' look at the NBA Playoffs. Today we'll be recapping Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Enjoy! Click a bolded name to see their page.  
                                            
When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in the summer of 2016, he was called many things. A coward. A snake. A killjoy. A fake competitor. He has been harassed endlessly on social media for his decision to join a team that had just gone 73-9 without him, and that his own Oklahoma City Thunder team had been up 3-1 on in the Western Conference Finals. Durant is fine with all that, as long as they remember to add 'two time NBA Champion & Finals MVP' at the end of it. At least, in a few days they'll need to. 
 
Durant went nuclear in Cleveland to steal Game 3 for the Warriors after Cleveland led much of the way. He put up a dominant 43 points, 13 rebounds, & 7 assists to come away with the win and put this series in a chokehold. Golden State needed every bit of it in a game that both Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were non-factors. Curry especially struggled mightily, going a ghastly 3-16 from the field and just 1-10 from three. For Cleveland to lose this game, at home, with the opposing Big 3 more of a Big 1, it hurts just as bad as it did in Game 1. But thats why the Warriors went and got Durant even when they were already the best team in the league. To overwhelm. Whether its in Game 4 on Friday or Game 5 on Monday, this series is over. The Golden State Warriors are the 2018 NBA Champions.

None of this should come as much of a surprise to anyone who's been following the Cavs this year. They've been a disjointed and entirely average squad all season long. It's only through the singular brilliance of LeBron James that they have gotten to this point. They actually got respectable production from their role players in this game, particularly from the much maligned Rodney Hood. Hood, who was acquired midseason from Utah and had completely fallen out of the rotation in these playoffs, rose from the dead with an efficient performance in heavy minutes. Fellow media punching bag Kevin Love continued his excellent offensive series, scoring from all over the court and inhaling rebounds. It was their nemesis all year that ultimately did them in at the worst time - defense. The question now becomes if Game 4 is LeBron's last in a Cavaliers uniform.