Game 3 of the NBA Finals finally made the Warriors’ dominance enjoyable

There are no moral victories in the NBA Finals. There is no condolence possible for a Cavaliers team who gave it their all just to lose to a better team in heartbreaking fashion at home. There’s little hope in being down 0-3 in the series. And there’s just no way to make the pain of Kevin Durant strolling down the court for a three-point dagger any less painful.

Yet for all non-partisans, Game 3 was everything the playoffs and Finals were supposed to be. For the first time in weeks, there was pressure on the Warriors. For the first time in weeks, we saw them meet that pressure at full strength and rise above it.

It’s been an open secret that Golden State would win the 2017 NBA title. They’re such a powerful team, with so many weapons, that even LeBron James going into his traditional all-conquering mode would feel futile. The predictable outcome hasn’t felt hollow.

It’s more that the Warriors were never truly tested in their 14 playoff games before Game 3. There was no conflict to their march to the ring. The best team in the league hardly ever had to leave second gear in order to win by enormous margins, and that’s just a boring as hell story for those who aren’t directly invested in the Warriors’ success.

This Game 3 went a long way in changing that. In being so close, the game helped reveal the greatness of Golden State by contrasting it with the Herculean efforts of its opponent.

Had the score not been so close, there wouldn’t be the now-signature Durant moment of hitting the three to ice the game.

There wouldn’t have been a chance for Andre Iguodala to redeem himself by stripping the man who made him infamous with a chase-down block a year ago.

There wouldn’t have been a closing stretch of domination from the five players that most define this great team.

When the game is at knife’s edge, every basket and miss becomes critical. That’s where greatness is remembered. It’s defined against an equally great opposition, not in the comfort of a blowout.

That we knew Golden State would win beforehand is beside the point. We know how most stories will end. You can have endings spoiled without a movie or a book being ruined.

But it’s far less interesting if the story doesn’t have any tension and gets to that conclusion in the most lifeless fashion. It’s more powerful if there’s some entertainment. Some struggle. Some heroic narrative, even if it ends in failure, that has an emotional pull and makes the hours spent watching the games feel more worthwhile. There needs to be some signature moment to remember, some difficult obstacles that bolster the conclusion when overcome.

Otherwise, the only defense for the entertainment value of the playoffs is to point to the viewership, which acts as a cop-out from the argument. There’s no direct correlation between the number of eyes watching and the quality of the games. That an event is popular doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s good entertainment.

And because of Game 3, we now have a testament to the magnitude of both teams and the individuals within them. The Cavaliers finally led with the game on the line. They finally pushed Golden State to the brink. They finally stopped the patented Warriors third-quarter explosion. They got Draymond Green in foul trouble and on the verge of another mental lapse. They forced Zaza Pachulia to commit mindless fouls. They had Curry and Klay Thompson braying for foul calls when their shots stopped falling. We rarely saw the Warriors in that state of frustration this season.

That the Warriors took all that and still walked out victorious underscores their greatness. We know Curry is incredible, but watching him pull up for three on a 3-to-1 break, knowing that his miss could be fatal, reminds us how he has skewed the game and helps us appreciate his incredible self-belief.

The close game also allowed Durant to prove why this team needed him, not as someone tagging along, but as the difference maker. The same goes for Iguodala’s boldness in going for the strip and Green’s newfound coolness to keep himself in check for the last few minutes of the game.

On the other end, faced against an impossible task, LeBron and Irving had the perfect platform to display their talent. Before the game, there were whispers that Durant was now better than LeBron.

LeBron played as if he was offended by such a notion. He was unstoppable both as a scorer and as a passer, especially early on. He was dunking over Durant in one second, then whipping a two-handed crosscourt mid-air pass for a three-pointer in the next. Just for kicks, he blocked a would be game-changing Iguodala dunk ... again. He was at his best because he absolutely had to be, lest the Warriors get breathing space.

Irving, who was maligned for his previous two performances, reminded fans everywhere that he’s the closest thing to Merlin the Magician in this modern age. The context of a close game allowed him to showcase his devil-may-care attitude that sees him going one-on-four in a fastbreak, and his unreal finishing ability saw him come out ahead anyway.

They rose to the occasion. It wasn’t enough.

That’s why game was like watching the much beloved action movie 300. Leonidas and his men died in the end, as many knew they would. But knowing that didn’t make the movie less enjoyable.

This is because the body of the story was fulfilling. The Spartans knew that Xerxes and his army were too strong and too many for them to truly stop. Besides wanting to buy time, what Leonidas did in his last scene was what LeBron and the Cavaliers did in Game 3. When he threw the spear and drew blood from Xerxes, Leonidas wanted to let the world know that this supposed invincible power could in fact be harmed. And that managed to leave the audience with some small hope when Xerxes ultimately prevailed.

The Warriors’ dominance has been the overarching story of this whole NBA season. Many feared their title run would be a formality, and for most of the playoffs it had been. Then, Cleveland proved that even with the addition of Durant, the Warriors can be challenged.

In doing so, the Cavaliers earned themselves glory in defeat and helped the audience appreciate the Warriors further. We can honor Cleveland for legitimately pushing its opponent and Golden State for taking the blows and still emerging victorious.

Sometimes, that’s all a good story needs.