KEVIN DURANT SCORED 38 points as the Golden State Warriors made sure they didn’t blow another big lead by routing the Los Angeles Clippers 132-105 in Game Three of their playoff series.
The Warriors ensured there was no repeat of Game Two, where they squandered a 31-point lead in the second half, allowing the Clippers to engineer the biggest comeback in NBA playoff history.
Golden State compiled another huge lead at almost the identical part of Thursday’s game by taking a 88-57 lead with 7:10 left in the third quarter.
Durant made sure the outcome was different this time. He finished 14-for-23 from the floor and was just five points shy of his playoff career high despite playing only 29 minutes.
“He was aggressive from the start at both ends,” said Golden State coach Steve Kerr. “He attacked. He showed everybody who Kevin Durant is.”
After taking just 24 shots and totaling 44 points in the first two games of the series, Durant came out blazing in Game Three, hitting his first six shots.
“The coach made some subtle changes. Other than that everybody stuck to the game plan,” said Durant.
Now down 2-1, the Clippers also will host Game Four in the best-of-seven set on Sunday.
Elsewhere, Ben Simmons dominated on the inside and Tobias Harris fired away from the perimeter as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Brooklyn Nets 131-115 to take a 2-1 lead in their opening round playoff series.
Derrick White scored a career-high 36 points as the San Antonio Spurs seized a 2-1 series lead with a 118-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
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