As if anyone could forget. In a tour-de-force performance that reaffirmed (for the select few who needed reminding) his position atop the NBA landscape, Kevin Durant put on a show at Staples Center on Thursday night. Buoyed by wonderful supporting performances on offense and defense by the rest of the roster, and unbothered (mostly) by one of the most bizarrely officiated games I have ever seen, KD was on another level. And with his newfound assertiveness came a level the Warriors have rarely hit in this up-and-down season. Despite eerie similarities to Game 2 of this series (including a 31-point advantage and Stephen Curry picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter), the Warriors never relinquished control of this game, finishing off a wire-to-wire 132-105 win in style.
“I’m Kevin Durant” (Warriors 132, Clippers 105)
