Kevin Durant made shot after shot after shot in a 110-102 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, and the Golden State Warriors are one win away from their third NBA title in four years. The Cavaliers shot better than they did in the first two games of the Finals in their return to Quicken Loans Arena, but it was not enough to avoid falling down 3-0 in the series.

Durant finished with 43 points -- a career playoff-high -- plus 13 rebounds and seven assists while shooting 15 for 23 and 6 for 9 from 3-point range. This was a masterwork. 

LeBron James, meanwhile, had 33 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, two blocks and two steals, shooting 13 for 28 in 47 minutes. Obviously, this was not enough. He and the Cavaliers will try to avoid a sweep on Friday in Game 4.

Takeaways:

Durant's superhero ball

So much went right for the Cavs in the first half. Kevin Love and J.R. Smith rediscovered their 3-point range, and the Splash Brothers struggled. Cleveland dominated the glass, got a boost from Rodney Hood off the bench (more on that later) and James created good look after good look, whether it was for himself or his teammates. They would have easily held a double-digit lead going into the third quarter if not for the presence of a ridiculous person named Kevin Durant. 

Durant had 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting before halftime, with eight rebounds and two assists. Near the end of the first quarter, he hit a contested 3-pointer off the dribble and a midrange jumper off a nasty crossover before baiting Jeff Green into biting on a pump fake and getting to the line. 

Near the end of the second quarter, he hit a LeBron-esque runner going left, plus the foul, and then effortlessly nailed a deep 3-pointer in Larry Nance Jr.'s face.

And then, with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter and the Warriors up by three points, Durant hit the dagger: a 33-foot bomb that silenced the crowd and brought back memories of the clutch 3 he hit over James in Game 3 last year. 

"It was just like it," Golden State forward Draymond Green told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "Deja vu. From where he hit the shot from -- a little bit deeper last time -- but he  really took the game over both Game 3s."

Watch how demoralizing this shot is:

Durant might be on his way to a second consecutive Finals MVP, but the more important fact is that he saved the Warriors when they were vulnerable. Coach Steve Kerr said that every time they needed a bucket, he got one.

"That was amazing, what he did out there tonight," Kerr said. "Some of those shots, I don't think anybody in the world can hit those but him. He was incredible."

Cold Curry

Stephen Curry had a nightmare shooting night at a pretty terrible time. He went 1-for-10 from 3-point range and 3-for-16 overall, never able to find his rhythm against a Cleveland defense that was doing everything it can to get the ball out of his hands. 

It should be noted, though, that none of the misses changed the way Cavs coach Tyronn Lue wanted his team to deal with him. In this way, Curry had about as good of a 3-for-16 game as you can imagine. The threat of Curry still mattered -- his gravity was still there and the Warriors got a lot of good looks out of pick-and-rolls where Cleveland trapped him. He deserves credit for handling those traps exceptionally well, getting rid of the ball quickly and putting his teammates in position to make plays. 

Also: He did hit this clutch 3, so that was nice.

Hoodwinked

Apparently Hood should have been playing over Jordan Clarkson all along. Who would have thought? (OK, a lot of us already thought that.)

Anyway: 26 minutes, 7-for-11 shooting, 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks. It wasn't a perfect night -- he still has a frustrating tendency to drift to the midrange instead of taking open 3s -- but it was inspiring given the circumstances. With how much James has been dominating the offense lately, it was somewhat jarring to see someone else making plays off the dribble for the Cavs. Hood was a team-worst minus-12, but you can expect him to see the floor again in Game 4.

Iguodala's impact

Andre Iguodala returned to the lineup and, predictably, gave Golden State a boost. He spent significant time guarding James, and he allowed Kerr to go small more often. 

"One thing with Andre, he's not like most players in terms of needing rhythm and needing minutes to get his conditioning back," Kerr said. "He just never gets tired. Even when he's been out two-and-a-half weeks, hasn't really been running much at all, he's still able to play through all that. And he's a plus-14: typical Andre line."

It should not surprise you that Iguodala was on the court in crunch time, nor that he performed well in that situation. Iguodala set up Curry's late 3-pointer by stripping Kevin Love in the post, and a few possessions later gave the Warriors a three-point lead by dunking all over Tristan Thompson's face.

LeBron did a thing

Despite the result, let's not forget that James threw an alley-oop to himself during an NBA Finals game. It looks particularly awesome with the phantom camera:

Good gravy.