NBA Finals 2017: The Warriors won the only playoff game that mattered

As it turned out, only one game in the NBA postseason mattered. That game was last night’s Game 3, and it was brilliant in so many different ways. And after the Warriors won it, we’re left contemplating everything we just witnessed in silence.

We started the season with the foregone conclusion that the Warriors and the Cavaliers would return to the Finals for another showdown, and we held the same convictions when the regular season ended. Cleveland hadn’t given us the most convincing regular season and Golden State had survived an injury scare to Kevin Durant, but they both coasted to the Finals, losing only one game combined in the process.

Nobody pushed those two teams. San Antonio nearly did, but a Kawhi Leonard injury ended those hopes halfway through the third quarter in the Western Conference Finals Game 1. There were other entertaining series played this postseason, but none of them felt important. The best case scenario was a ticket that would quickly lead to a Cavs-Warriors round three.

After two blowouts, Game 3 alone determined whether the Cavaliers could make this a competitive series or their vacation was around the corner. It was a remarkable example of modern basketball and shot making, but they could not. Golden State just overwhelmed them.

I just wish there had been more.

In the end, Game 3 was everything non-partisan viewers wanted. For the entire game, the Cavaliers provided the fireworks. They hustled until their joints were bruised and their hips were throbbing and every loose ball that they could have was dived after or reached towards, no matter how unlikely they’d catch up to it. The Warriors had their moments, too, but they were rewarded by a roaring Cleveland crowd.

And yet, it didn’t matter for Cleveland. In the end, Goliath still won and this is a 3-0 series.

We wanted the underdog to win because we crave competition. We wanted the Cavaliers to hold on because it would make this series interesting for at least two more days. Instead, the only thing this game couldn’t provide was just that.

It’s proof that nothing is perfect. Except, for these playoffs, maybe the Warriors.

Before we become too far removed, it’s really worth repeating how incredible a game these two teams gave us. It just didn’t end the way anyone but a Warriors fan would want.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving both went to another gear when the Cavaliers needed them most. They combined for 77 points, the most points by a duo in an NBA Finals loss. And it still wasn’t enough to knock off the Warriors in Game 3.

James’ first quarter was a sign of things to come. He shot 7-of-8 from the field, as well as 2-of-3 from deep. It just looked like he was never going to miss during a quarter that was as fast-paced as a NASCAR race. His 16 points were tied for the most in the quarter with Klay Thompson, who finally found his shot in Game 3.

Even when James got popped by Tristan Thompson on accident, he stayed in the game, and then threw down a vicious dunk. It sent a message that the Cavaliers were going to punch harder than they had all series — which they did.

What more could they do!?

LeBron James deserved better.

His Cavaliers lost Game 3 of the NBA Finals to the Warriors on Wednesday, 118-113. Golden State’s lead is 3-0, and this thing’s all but formally over. That’s in spite of James pouring in 39 points on 15-of-27 shooting with 11 rebounds and nine assists. He was a plus-seven in a game his team lost by five points, the best margin on the team. It was one of the finest Finals performances in recent memories, and it went for naught.

From the time James entered the league in 2003 to his departure for the Heat in 2010, he carried Cavaliers teams that didn’t have elite talent around him. He took lots of hard-luck losses on those teams. But what happened on Wednesday will go down as an all-time squandering of one of the truly great playoff performances of James’ career.

Don’t bash this idea without reading the context in this great Alex Kirshner piece.

The biggest thing happening with the argument that James’ teammates let him down is that the goalposts were changed. If you compare this team to the 2007 Cavaliers, it’s like looking at the varsity squad scrimmaging the junior high boys. Obviously, Cleveland is way better and James has better teammates than anything we’ve seen in the rest of his career.

However, that also doesn’t really matter: The goalposts are what James and his teams have to gun for, whatever they are. On Wednesday, James gave a Herculean effort and it wasn’t enough. There’s no one else left to blame but the teammates, or maybe this is just a situation where we look at how loaded the Warriors are and shrug. Either way, there’s no winning situation for James here.

Warriors 118, Cavaliers 113 (Golden State of Mind recap | Fear the Sword recap)