CLEVELAND — Kevin Durant pushed the Golden State Warriors into dynasty’s doorstep.

LeBron James may be at the exit door.
Durant scored 43 points, draining a lengthy 3-pointer in the final minute to cap his glorious performance, and the Warriors beat James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-102, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night to move within a victory of a sweep, their second straight title and third championship in four years.
And Cleveland may be down to one final game with James, who recorded his 10th triple-double from the finals. The three-time winner can opt out of the $35.6 million deal and examine free agency this summer, and it can be time for the 33-year-old to find a team capable of beating the Warriors.
These Cavs can not find out it.
CBSSports.com’s Kyle Boone writes,”There will be endless banter about where free-agent-to-be LeBron James decides to signal when he chooses to leave Cleveland. But one destination, the Los Angeles Lakers, has been the most discussed landing place for the superstar for quite a while now.”
Together with the Cavs down 103-100, Durant stood and nearly motionless after falling his 33-footer – nearly from the exact same area from where he hit one in Game 3 last season – and effectively finished the fourth straight finals matchup between two teams who have gotten to know each other well because 2015.
After Durant scored, Stephen Curry and Draymond surrounded Durant and screamed in their teammate, who calmly walked toward the seat.
“I tried to just stay in the zone,” Durant said, admitting that he was worried the Cavs could come back.
Durant reported the similarity with last year’s shot – a moment which helped define his first championship – didn’t happen to him.
“No, not at all,” he said of the contrast. “I only took the photo.”
There was.
“It was like deja vu watching him hit that shot again,” Cavs ahead Kevin Love said.
Golden State will have four chances to wrap up its name starting with Game 4 to Friday night. The Warriors are attempting to combine a select list of teams to win three championships in four decades.
James scored 33 points and Kevin Love additional 20 for the Cavs, who have dropped into the hole from which no team has ever arose. Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the Warriors at the 2016 finals, but that was Durant was in Oklahoma City and James needed another supporting cast.
“We had our opportunities,” James stated. “You can not make mistakes. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
The Warriors won even though a 3-of-16 shooting performance from Curry, who did come up big down the stretch because the Cavs were trying to salvage their time.
Durant, who tilted this competition toward the West Coast when he signed up with the Warriors as a free agent before last year, was brilliant from the beginning. He helped cancel a night for Curry, who left a finals-record nine 3-pointers in Game 2, but was just 1 of 10 from behind the arc and did not score his second field goal until there were under three minutes left.
Curry’s scoop shot put up the Warriors 98-97 and defensive pro Andre Iguodala, who did not play in Games 1 or two due to a knee injury, came up with a steal under the basket. Curry finally buried a 3 and after James matched him with a lengthy shot, Iguodala drove the lane for a dip dip.
Seconds later, Durant delivered his dagger to silence Cleveland’s crowd.
“The shot clock was running down, I was fairly much out, I only wanted to get a look,” Durant said. “I did not wish to run there and take a bad shot, drop on the floor and they got amounts going the other way so I opted to pull up.”
James made a layup to pull on the Cavs within four, it was too little too late as the Warriors shut it out and beat Cleveland for the fourth consecutive time in finals games.
With JaVale McGee acquiring three point-blank shots in the rim, the Warriors started the third quarter with a 9-3 spurt and it was not long before they took his first lead on Curry’s two free throws.

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