© Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The moment JR Smith corralled a rebound from George Hill’s monumental free throw miss in Game 1, then ran toward midcourt, confused, he became a meme. His cluelessness overshadowed a positive: that he secured the offensive rebound over the 7-foot Kevin Durant — and that Durant allowed the rebound to happen. He simply did not put his body on Smith, who rebounded the miss with ease.
Durant seemed noticeably tuned out in Game 1. He still methodically poured in 26 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, which attests to his greatness, but he wasn’t as dialed in as we have seen recently.
Game 2, and especially Game 3, showed a different Durant. On Wednesday night, the four-time scoring champion produced 43 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in Golden State’s 110-102 win to extend its NBA Finals lead to 3-0. He was the sole reason why the Warriors kept close in the first half, entering the break trailing by six after being severely outplayed, so they could pounce in the final 24 minutes.
Durant’s career-defining performance (so far) was accentuated with a 33-foot dagger to put the Warriors up by six points with fewer than one minute remaining. He has become the frontrunner to win NBA Finals MVP, passing Stephen Curry in a two-legged race.
Steve Kerr feels Durant’s legendary Finals can partly be attributed to his costly error in Game 1, which woke him up.
“This is the first time I felt like, the last couple games, where he is so dialed in in all facets,” Kerr told KNBR’s Tolbert & Lund Thursday afternoon. “He didn’t box out in Game 1 against JR (Smith), and he took some flak for that, and rightly so. That’s a huge play. I think from that point on, he got so dialed in, so locked in on every aspect, his defense, his rebounding, handling the ball, but also his demeanor. He just got this look on his face of determination, and it gives his teammates a lot of confidence.”
Durant was a man possessed from tip to horn Wednesday night. Even after he hit that long three to seal the game, he turned around and reticently sauntered toward the Warriors bench.
Kerr also elaborated on why Durant differs from other superstars.
“Kevin loves efficiency more than anything,” Kerr said. “Kobe Bryant, he just wanted to score 60 and kill you. He would take 100 shots to do it if he could. Kevin, there is something about him that loves the efficiency. He doesn’t want to dominate the ball, but he wants to be very efficient, make the right play. When he is on his game like he was last night, it’s terrifying for the defense. He can get any shot he wants.”
Listen to Tolbert & Lund’s full podcast with Kerr below. Skip forward to the 2:35 mark to hear Kerr talk about Durant.