SAN ANTONIO _ Wounded and wobbly, the Spurs, trailing 2-0 in the series and clawing from behind in the third quarter, needed one more forceful shove to push their fading season onto life support.
Kevin Durant delivered the blow, squashing a desperate Spurs rally with a 19-point third quarter to bump the Warriors back into cruise control as they finished off a 120-108 Game 3 win in San Antonio, giving them a 3-0 stranglehold on these West Finals.
The Warriors are now 48 minutes from a third straight Finals, likely against Cleveland for a third straight time. But for their 11th playoff win during this 11-0 stomp toward the three-match, Durant's 12 third quarter minutes catapulted them.
The Spurs trailed by nine at halftime. But they exited the locker room with some zest. LaMarcus Aldridge (18 points), whose dreadful series has frustrated his fanbase and coach, nailed a 3 and spiked through a dunk to cut the Warriors lead to four and force an early third quarter timeout.
Out of a timeout, following a jumper from Steph Curry (21 points), Durant jumped a passing lane and snagged his second steal, forcefully attacking Danny Green on a fast break and powering his way to the free-throw line. Durant only made one of the free throws, giving him his first point of the third.
He then slid into the background temporarily, not scoring for the next few minutes as another Spurs run pulled them within 74-71. Some life reentered the building. But it would soon fade.
Starting at the 6:22 mark of the third, Durant took over. He opened his big run with two free throws, then set up a cutting Patrick McCaw _ the second-round rookie who gave the Warriors great minutes for a second straight game _ on a backdoor cut for a floater.
Durant then attacked Aldridge and forced his way to the line again, his fifth and sixth attempts of the quarter. The free-throw parade snowballed into a rhythm.
On the next two possessions, he sharply cut backdoor and finished off two layups set up by David West, who continued his passing renaissance with five assists in 18 minutes. One of those Durant layups included a Jonathon Simmons foul. He made the free throw, giving him seven points in 70 seconds.
One possession later, an aggressive Durant continued his onslaught, this time needing no help from teammates. Durant nailed a 24-foot 3 and then, the next time down, planted a 26-footer, plus another foul. He made the free throw, giving him 14 straight.
To cap it off, with under three minutes now left in the third quarter, Durant found himself in isolation against Dejounte Murray, the Spurs' backup point guard. He looked around and toward Curry, standing on the opposite side of the court. Curry waved at him to go at Murray, so he did, rising for a one-legged fadeaway.
It gave Durant 16 straight Warrior points and 19 of his game-high 33 in the third quarter. By the time he was done, the Warriors were up 18 _ 98-80 _ and the Spurs were all but vanquished. The Durant takeover was similar to a year before, while with the Thunder, when he completely flipped their second-round series against the Spurs with a monster 17-point fourth quarter in Game 4 to carry his team home.
The Spurs wouldn't win another game in that series. They may not win one at all in this series, thanks, in part, to Durant's massive third quarter on Saturday night.
