Warriors HQ Podcast: Durant makes an example of the Clippers
Don’t view the Warriors’ Game 3 victory as the team trying to prove a point.
No, they were merely trying to restore order to a series that never should have been tied.
With the lesson learned in Game 2 — they had a 16-minute stretch where they, per Stephen Curry, “literally [forgot] how to play basketball,” resulting in choking away a record 31-point lead — still fresh in their mind, Golden State led Game 3 from the opening tip to final buzzer, winning 132-105.
After a beat-down like that, let’s call this series what it is: over.
The Warriors might only have a 2-1 lead on the Clippers in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series, but it’s nearly impossible to see a path for Los Angeles to win three of the next four contests.
In fact, it’s quite difficult to see the Clippers winning another game.
The Warriors played sloppy, turnover-happy basketball in Game 1 and won by 17. Then, they opened up a 31-point lead in Game 2 before their bizarre, collective implosion, best (but not completely) explained by a well-conditioned sense of apathy.
On Thursday, they led by as many as 36 points on the road and refused to give the Clippers a chance to make much of a dent in that advantage.