Golden State dominated the third quarter and cruised to a blowout win.
For the better part of one half, the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets played the type of ultra-close, back-and-forth affair that everyone anticipated. The Warriors, holding the league’s best record and one of the top MVP candidates in Steph Curry, made their mark. The Nets, the championship favorites in many people’s eyes and also having one of the top MVP candidates in Kevin Durant, made their mark back, usually staying one step ahead.
It was exciting, tense, dramatic. It was close.
And then, just like that, it wasn’t.
The Dubs ended the first half on a bang, starting a run that culminated in Andrew Wiggins making a pair of threes on both sides of a two-for-one, including a buzzer-beater that gave the Warriors a five-point lead at the half.
And it carried right into the third quarter, with Golden State scoring 14 unanswered points between the end of the second and start of the third.
They were just getting started.
Golden State dominated the third quarter, as they have so many times this year. And they did it in every possible way.
They outscored Brooklyn 35-18 in the third frame. Curry made impossible shot after impossible shot. Gary Payton II played highlight reel defense. Draymond Green was absurd. Curry hit the bench early with foul trouble and the Warriors managed to expand the lead, despite Durant and James Harden being on the floor.
And the defense? Almost not suitable for work.
KD 0-8 on FG in the third quarter
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) November 17, 2021
It was a 22-point lead going into the fourth quarter, and it never felt competitive after that. Both teams turned to their subs, and the Dubs cruised to a 117-99 win.
Statement made.