Cavaliers look to finish off Celtics

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BOSTON -- Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, whose Cleveland Cavaliers are one win away from an NBA Final rematch with the Golden State Warriors, said Wednesday coaching against the Boston Celtics without Isaiah Thomas has presented a whole different set of obstacles.

Obstacles different even than the Warriors, who await the winner of the Eastern Conference Final.

"The stuff they're running, it's harder to defend than Golden State's (offense) for me, as far as the actions and all the running around and all the guys who are making all the plays, so it's a totally different thing," Lue said. "Like, they hit the post, Golden State runs splits and all that stuff but these guys are running all kinds of (stuff). And Brad (Stevens has) got them moving and cutting and playing with pace and everybody is a threat."

That's why, when asked whether he is thinking about a possible third straight title meeting with the Warriors, Lue, whose team is up 3-1 on Boston, said, "You can't. As much as you want to, it's not over.

"(The Celtics are), like I told you guys before, it's like we're preparing for a whole new team. Like, we didn't know what they were going to run. Isaiah (Thomas) goes down and they're running a totally different offense than we prepared for so it's been tough on us. And defensively, they're a lot better. They don't have a lot of weak links to go to, to go at.

The Celtics left TD Garden after their Game 2 beat-down anything but sure they could give their fans at least one more home game. Then they found out for sure their star, Thomas, was done for the year.

Thursday night, the Boston fans do in fact get another home game as the injury-riddled Celtics try to send the series back to Cleveland for Game 6.

A win and LeBron James goes to his seventh straight finals and the Cavs will see a team that is 12-0 in these playoffs.

The Celtics pulled off the improbable comeback upset in Game 3 before Kyrie Irving and James combined to bring the defending champions back from 16 points down to win Game 4 Tuesday night.

Irving, who scored a career-playoff-high 42 points, rolled his left ankle with 1:49 left in his 21-point third quarter but is expected to play Thursday.

"I've twisted my ankle so many times that plays like that, you have two choices, either you can sit there and kind of wallow in the sorrow of you twisting your ankle or capture the moment," Irving said.

With Thomas already gone, the Celtics played without Amir Johnson in Game 4 because a shoulder injury suffered in the third game. He and Jae Crowder (groin) are listed as probable for Game 5 while rookie Jaylen Brown (hip pointer) is questionable.

Asked about suffering his injury, Irving said, "My adrenaline is still going at this point, so I'm pretty sure when I get home my body will probably hate me, but it's the magnitude of the moment and what's at stake, and I wasn't coming out for any margin. I wasn't coming out.

"I knew how much we needed this game and how much my teammates needed me and the importance of me leading these guys as well as 'Bron.

"I'm saying to myself, 'They cannot tie up this series. They cannot. We cannot go to Boston 2-2 and then it becomes almost an even series."

The Celtics have to know they let one get away Tuesday night, but may well have just fallen victim to the fatigue that resulted from the dramatic -- and totally unexpected -- win in Game 3.

"The first half we played some of the best basketball we played all season," Brown said of Game 4, "against one of the best teams in basketball."

They did. And they built a 16-point lead, before the Cleveland stars, more notable Irving, stole the game right back.

"We had really good athletes, quick guys that make things tough on people, guarding him, and he was able to raise up and make a lot of tough shots," said Stevens. "He was able to get by us and make tough shots in the paint. Again, sometimes I think that -- I'll go look at it and see all the things that we did wrong, but I think it's more of a tip-your-hat kind of thing with those two guys tonight."

NBA announces 2019 All-Star game will held in Charlotte

By STEVE REED
Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The NBA All-Star game is headed back to Charlotte in 2019, a couple of years longer than anticipated.

The NBA announced that the All-Star weekend will be held Feb. 15-17 in Charlotte and the game will be played at the Spectrum Center, home of the Charlotte Hornets.

The league had selected Charlotte to host the 2017 All-Star game, but later moved the game to New Orleans because of the state law restricting the rights of LGBT people. However, a compromise was struck in March to partially erase the impact of the House Bill 2 law limiting anti-discrimination protections for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people.

"While we understand the concerns of those who say the repeal of HB2 did not go far enough, we believe the recent legislation eliminates the most egregious aspects of the prior law," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a release. "Additionally, it allows us to work with the leadership of the Hornets organization to apply a set of equality principles to ensure that every All-Star event will proceed with open access and anti-discrimination policies.

"All venues, hotels and businesses we work with during All-Star will adhere to these policies as well. Sports have a long history of helping to change attitudes around important social issues. We believe holding our All-Star activities in Charlotte will be a powerful way for the NBA to continue this tradition."

Hornets owner and longtime NBA great Michael Jordan said in a release he is "thrilled" the game is coming back to Charlotte.

"We want to thank Commissioner Silver for his leadership throughout this process and for the decision to bring NBA All-Star back to Buzz City," Jordan said in the release. "All-Star Weekend is an international event that will provide a tremendous economic impact to our community while showcasing our city, our franchise and our passionate Hornets fan base to people around the world."

Charlotte previously hosted the All-Star game in 1991 at the Charlotte Coliseum, which has since been demolished.

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More AP NBA: www.apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

Irving's 42 carry Cavs to win, 3-1 lead over Celtics

(TSX / STATS) -- CLEVELAND -- Imagine being down by 13 points and losing the best player in the world to his fourth foul before the second quarter of Game 4 in the Eastern Conference finals is even over.

And then handing the ball to Kyrie Irving, getting out of the way, and watching him bring the team to the doorstep of the NBA Finals.

That was reality for the Cavaliers on Tuesday night, as Irving set a playoff-career high with 42 points in Cleveland's 112-99 win over the Boston Celtics.

The Cavs, ahead 3-1 in the series, can reach their third straight NBA Finals, and LeBron James his seventh in a row, with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.

James scored 34 points to go with six assists in Game 4, even though he left the game with 6:46 remaining in the second quarter after picking up his fourth foul. He never previously had that many fouls in the first half in his 14-year career, and Cleveland trailed 46-33.

Irving scored 36 points after that, including 21 during a game-turning third quarter in which Cleveland outscored the Celtics 40-23.

"In the back of my mind, I was like, I'm saying to myself, 'We cannot -- they cannot tie up this series,'" Irving said. "They cannot. We cannot go to Boston 2-2 and then it becomes almost an even series."

Kevin Love added 17 points and a career playoff-high 17 rebounds for Cleveland. The 93 points produced together by Irving, James and Love are the most they have amassed as a group and the second highest for a trio in team playoff history.

Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 19 points, and Jae Crowder added 18 points and eight rebounds. Al Horford contributed 16 points and seven assists.

The Celtics, who are missing their best player, injured guard Isaiah Thomas, led by as many as 16 points in the first half and appeared primed to stun Cleveland again while James flirted with trouble.

Irving kept the game close until halftime with 12 points. Then he tied a team playoff record with his 21 points in the third, set a Cavs postseason record with nine field goals and scored the final 14 points of the period.

When his 3-pointer splashed with a half-second left in the third quarter, the Cavs led 87-80. The circumstances were different and the primary author of the comeback was Irving instead of James, but Cleveland fighting back from 16 down was in some ways reminiscent of the 26-point halftime deficit the Cavs erased in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers.

"I'm telling my guys on the court the whole entire game, we've seen this before, we've been through this, we've experienced this, and we're going to get through this, and from that point on, it clicked," Irving said.

Irving also rolled an ankle on a drive and bucket with 1:47 left in the third but was able to stay in the game.

James recovered from an 11-point, 4-of-13 shooting night he endured in Cleveland's stunning Game 3 loss. He shot 15 of 27 from the field Tuesday and closed the game with 15 points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer with 3:52 remaining for a 106-97 lead.

"I don't think I've ever had four fouls in a game before in the first half, so my rhythm is kind of broken and you've got to figure out ways you can still help the team, and my teammates said be aggressive, be you," James said. "You got us to this point and continue to do that, so I just tried to find ways to get into the lane, get into transition, when they backed off, shoot the jumper, and felt very comfortable."

The Celtics proved to be a tough cover without Thomas again in the first half, bringing to mind their second-half success in their 111-108 win in Game 3. However, they committed nine turnovers that led to 13 Cleveland points in the second half.

Bradley shot just 7 of 19 from the field. Crowder started the game 4 of 5 but finished 6 of 12. He also sustained a strained left thigh in the third quarter but returned to the game.

The Cavs had nine turnovers for 13 points in the first half. In the second half, they shot 27 of 38 (71.1 percent) from the field.

"Kyrie Irving and LeBron James would be the two answers," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said when asked about the difference from the first half to the second. "They were unbelievable. Irving was incredible at the end of the third, and then obviously LeBron had all those baskets in the fourth.

"I thought that we played, you know, as well as we've played maybe the entire playoffs in the first half. We were really good defensively. Offensively, I thought we moved and cut and played together, and then for whatever reason, all those things became a little bit more difficult. But that's what great teams do. They make it really hard on you.

"As we all know, a 10-point lead at halftime is nothing, especially against those guys. But they deserve a lot of credit. Those two guys were incredible."

NOTES: Celtics G Isaiah Thomas (right hip) visited with an undisclosed specialist to determine the course of action for his surgery. Coach Brad Stevens said no decision had been made yet on whether Thomas would undergo an operation but reiterated that the guard is out for the remainder of the playoffs. Stevens said Thomas may consult with two additional specialists. ... Boston F Kelly Olynyk made his first start of the postseason in place of Amir Johnson (sprained shoulder), and he scored 15 points. The Celtics used their third different starting lineup in four games against Cleveland. ... Cavs G J.R. Smith and his wife brought home from the hospital their baby daughter Dakota, who had been in a Cleveland-area NICU since her birth in January. She was born nearly five months early. ... Cavs F LeBron James trails Michael Jordan (5,987 points) by just 28 points for first place in NBA playoff history in scoring.

Warriors finish off Spurs behind Curry's 36

(TSX / STATS) -- SAN ANTONIO -- The celebration was subdued on Monday after Golden State made history in its four-game sweep of the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

The Warriors refuse to be deterred from their ultimate goal of a second NBA title in the past three years.

Stephen Curry scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Warriors strolled to a 129-115 win over the short-handed but game San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center, in the process earning the right to play either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors will have nine days to rest for that series, which begins in Oakland, Calif., on June 1.

The Warriors have swept all three of their playoff series and are the first team in NBA history to start the postseason 12-0, eclipsing the record established by the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State has won 27 of its past 28 overall games (including the regular season) and has won six straight road playoff games, a franchise record.

"It's a great run, and we had an opportunity to get it done tonight, but more importantly, it was obviously just a closeout kind of mentality and trying to take care of our business and play a good 48-minute game," Curry said. "For the most part, we did.

"We had some slip-ups and some mental errors, but for the most part it was a solid night. Contributions from everybody.

"Going 12-0 is great, but it doesn't mean anything going into the next series, and we have to understand that."

The Spurs announced about 90 minutes before tipoff that both injured star forward Kawhi Leonard (left ankle) and reserve forward David Lee (left knee) would miss the game, likely dooming any chance San Antonio had to extend the series.

But even with a full complement of players, the Spurs -- or any opponent for that matter -- would have been hard-pressed to beat Golden State the way the Warriors are playing. Despite the fact that the Warriors have cruised to their spot in the Finals, they are adamant that they can play better.

"There are things on both sides of the ball that we can clean up, and that's what's, I guess, got our guys' attention or focus," Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown said. "We've been preaching certain things, and for the most part, they've been doing it, but to get to our ultimate goal of winning the whole thing, we've got to be better on both ends of the floor."

Draymond Green contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State. Ian Clark tallied 12 points, and Klay Thompson scored 10 points (on 3-of-13 shooting) for the Warriors. Golden State outshot the Spurs 55.8 percent to 42.3 percent, had 53 rebounds to San Antonio's 41 and dominated despite 17 turnovers that led to 22 San Antonio points.

Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 points, and Manu Ginobili added 15 in what might have been the final game of his 15-year NBA career.

Ginobili left the game in the final minutes to chants of "Manu, Manu" and "one more year." He has said he will take three or four weeks off before deciding whether he wants to return to the league next season, when he will be 40 years old.

"The opponent was, in this case, way better than us," Ginobili said of the Warriors' domination off the series. "When you lose by an average of 20 points per game in the last three games, you look at them in the eyes and say, 'Congratulations, man, you beat us fair and square. You were better than us.' It's the easiest thing to do."

San Antonio's Patty Mills and Pau Gasol hit for 14 points each, and Jonathon Simmons scored 13. LaMarcus Aldridge, arguably the Spurs' most important player after Leonard, scored just eight points and did not play in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors shot 50 percent in the first quarter against San Antonio's makeshift lineup, built as much as a 14-point advantage and led 31-19 after 12 minutes as Curry pumped in 13 points despite shooting just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. The Spurs hit just 9 of 31 shots in the first quarter and wasted the momentum and boost from the crowd that was provided by the ageless Ginobili's first start in a playoff game since 2013.

Golden State was even better from the floor in the second quarter, hitting 14 of 19 shots and leading by as many as 19 points before settling for a 65-51 advantage at halftime. Durant and Curry each had 18 points in the half to lead the Warriors, while Anderson led San Antonio with 10 points.

The Warriors worked to finish off San Antonio in the early stages of the third quarter, moving to a 78-56 lead on two Green free throws at the 8:25 mark. But the Spurs would not quit, forging a 19-7 run to cut the lead back to 85-75 on a jumper by Bryn Forbes with 2:49 to play in the period. Golden State responded with an 11-3 surge of its own to end the period and took a 96-78 cushion into the final period.

The fourth quarter was mostly mop-up time for the Warriors, who never let San Antonio get within 13 points while closing out the victory.

"Everybody tries to put together as much talent as they can, and that's what (Golden State) did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Make no mistake -- they're really talented. But that's not the whole equation. That's not everything that describes them.

"(Golden State is) maybe the best defensive team in the league on top of everything. So they don't just play with talent. They execute at the defensive end of the floor. On offense, no team is more unselfish finding the open man and that sort of thing. Coaches are always trying to get their team to do that. But they've got a multitude of people who are unselfish in that regard and play a beautiful game. They're way, way more than just their talent."

NOTES: Golden State has won at least one road game in each of its past 14 playoff series dating back to the first round in 2013, extending a franchise record. Gs Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and F Draymond Green and have played with the Warriors for all 14 of those postseason series. ... Since the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, they have made 10 conference finals appearances, which ranks as the most in the league in that time frame. San Antonio is also tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships during that span (five). ... Spurs G Manu Ginobili is the only player in NBA history besides LeBron James to record at least 800 rebounds, 800 assists and 300 3-pointers in the postseason. ... The Spurs are now 0-3 under coach Gregg Popovich is series in which they lost the first three games.

James, Cavaliers aim to rebound in Game 4 vs. Celtics

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CLEVELAND -- Forget playing like he had throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.

If LeBron James was even a shell of his usual self in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers would be up 3-0 in the conference finals and beginning to size up the Golden State Warriors for what would be an NBA Finals rematch.

Game 4 is Tuesday in Cleveland.

"No blame. We're all to blame," Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said Monday, a day after his team was stunned 111-108 by the Celtics. "We lost; it happens. For a guy who played great for five straight months, he's got to have a bad game sooner or later. He's human. He didn't shoot the ball well. It wasn't his ordinary game. But Kevin (Love, 28 points) and Kyrie (Irving, 29 points) had it going early and they played well, so it kind of got him out of rhythm a little bit in that first half. That's no excuse."

It wasn't just James' 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting that killed Cleveland, although it was surprising, given the 68 points he'd scored in the first two games of this series. It was his shocking inactivity in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, given his historic efforts against them and Jae Crowder -- who typically defends James.

James took just three shots in that fourth quarter and missed them all. He didn't get to the free-throw line.

"He's got to be aggressive, get downhill, play like he's been playing, play confident," said Cavaliers teammate and friend J.R. Smith, who scored 13 points with eight rebounds in Game 3.

"That's what I always think, when people of his stature or people like him, you've got to play confident the whole night and play aggressive. It's the Eastern Conference finals. It's not enough for him. For what he does, what he brings, it's not enough. He knows that. We know that. Just expect him to be better in Game 4."

According to cleveland.com, James' teams are 1-10 in the playoffs when he scores 15 or fewer points. Perhaps foreshadowing what's to come from him in Game 4, James is averaging 24.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the nine playoff games following such a loss (the 10th game will be Tuesday).

James is 20-0 in playoff series in which his team won the first two games, and the Cavaliers are 14-0 in those sets. James hasn't lost a playoff series against an Eastern team since the second round in 2010, when the Celtics knocked out Cleveland in six games.

James had one of his worst playoff games ever in that series -- in Game 5, at home, he scored 15 points on 3-of-14 shooting and the Cavaliers were blown out. The Celtics took Game 6 and the series.

Cleveland still has control in these conference finals and is 13-2 in its last 15 playoff games at Quicken Loans Arena.

"I mean, a game like that just happens," Lue said. "You move on and hopefully be better the next game. It's not something we're going to hang our head on. But we definitely understand that this (Boston) team is not going to quit, they're going to fight, they're going to compete."

The Celtics have to fight on without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas, who is out for the remainder of the playoffs with a hip injury. His teammates celebrated with Thomas via FaceTime following their Game 3 win. They all know not to expect the same, unusually tame James in Game 4.

"I think he's going to be aggressive," said Avery Bradley, who scored 20 points and made the game-winning 3-pointer. "I mean, LeBron James understands how to play the game, and he understands what this team needs from him. He's most likely going to be a lot more aggressive. It's our job to make sure that we defend him as best we can and just make every -- take other guys out of the game."

Boston trailed 2-0 in the first round against Chicago, but won the next four. This is a whole different deal, however, facing the defending champions without their own best player in Thomas.

And now there may be more adversity for the Celtics. Coach Brad Stevens told the Boston Globe that forward Amir Johnson has a sprained right shoulder and is questionable for Game 4. Johnson was replaced in the starting lineup for Game 2 by Gerald Green, but after a 44-point loss and with Thomas out, Stevens went back to Johnson in Game 3.

Stevens would rather play Kelly Olynyk (15 points in Game 3) and Jonas Jerebko (10 points) than Johnson anyway.

"We always believe in ourselves," said Avery Bradley, who scored 20 points and made the game-winning 3-pointer in Game 3. "It's not always the outcome that we want, but that's part of the game.

"You're going to have ups and downs. You obviously hear people saying that it's all about how you respond, and we don't feel like people believed in us and counted us out, but that just put another chip on our shoulder, which I think is good. And I hope we can continue to play with that chip on our shoulder and come out the same way next game."

Stevens looked beyond the scoring numbers James put up in Game 3.

"Well, one of the things, as you go back and watch the film, I thought LeBron made a lot of the right plays," Stevens said. "When you've got guys that are all on fire the way they are, the right basketball play is to find them. He just made it over and over.

"The guy is a tremendous basketball player. He makes the right play over and over, and he thinks the game, he sees the game. He's a really good defender. He can read situations. So I thought he was pretty darned good. But like I said last night, I'm not going to be critical of the best player in the world."

Warriors finish off Spurs behind Curry's 36

(TSX / STATS) -- SAN ANTONIO -- The celebration was subdued on Monday after Golden State made history in its four-game sweep of the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals.

The Warriors refuse to be deterred from their ultimate goal of a second NBA title in the past three years.

Stephen Curry scored 36 points and Kevin Durant added 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Warriors strolled to a 129-115 win over the short-handed but game San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center, in the process earning the right to play either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

The Warriors will have nine days to rest for that series, which begins in Oakland, Calif., on June 1.

The Warriors have swept all three of their playoff series and are the first team in NBA history to start the postseason 12-0, eclipsing the record established by the 1989 and 2001 Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State has won 27 of its past 28 overall games (including the regular season) and has won six straight road playoff games, a franchise record.

"It's a great run, and we had an opportunity to get it done tonight, but more importantly, it was obviously just a closeout kind of mentality and trying to take care of our business and play a good 48-minute game," Curry said. "For the most part, we did.

"We had some slip-ups and some mental errors, but for the most part it was a solid night. Contributions from everybody.

"Going 12-0 is great, but it doesn't mean anything going into the next series, and we have to understand that."

The Spurs announced about 90 minutes before tipoff that both injured star forward Kawhi Leonard (left ankle) and reserve forward David Lee (left knee) would miss the game, likely dooming any chance San Antonio had to extend the series.

But even with a full complement of players, the Spurs -- or any opponent for that matter -- would have been hard-pressed to beat Golden State the way the Warriors are playing. Despite the fact that the Warriors have cruised to their spot in the Finals, they are adamant that they can play better.

"There are things on both sides of the ball that we can clean up, and that's what's, I guess, got our guys' attention or focus," Warriors acting head coach Mike Brown said. "We've been preaching certain things, and for the most part, they've been doing it, but to get to our ultimate goal of winning the whole thing, we've got to be better on both ends of the floor."

Draymond Green contributed 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Golden State. Ian Clark tallied 12 points, and Klay Thompson scored 10 points (on 3-of-13 shooting) for the Warriors. Golden State outshot the Spurs 55.8 percent to 42.3 percent, had 53 rebounds to San Antonio's 41 and dominated despite 17 turnovers that led to 22 San Antonio points.

Kyle Anderson led the Spurs with 20 points, and Manu Ginobili added 15 in what might have been the final game of his 15-year NBA career.

Ginobili left the game in the final minutes to chants of "Manu, Manu" and "one more year." He has said he will take three or four weeks off before deciding whether he wants to return to the league next season, when he will be 40 years old.

"The opponent was, in this case, way better than us," Ginobili said of the Warriors' domination off the series. "When you lose by an average of 20 points per game in the last three games, you look at them in the eyes and say, 'Congratulations, man, you beat us fair and square. You were better than us.' It's the easiest thing to do."

San Antonio's Patty Mills and Pau Gasol hit for 14 points each, and Jonathon Simmons scored 13. LaMarcus Aldridge, arguably the Spurs' most important player after Leonard, scored just eight points and did not play in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors shot 50 percent in the first quarter against San Antonio's makeshift lineup, built as much as a 14-point advantage and led 31-19 after 12 minutes as Curry pumped in 13 points despite shooting just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. The Spurs hit just 9 of 31 shots in the first quarter and wasted the momentum and boost from the crowd that was provided by the ageless Ginobili's first start in a playoff game since 2013.

Golden State was even better from the floor in the second quarter, hitting 14 of 19 shots and leading by as many as 19 points before settling for a 65-51 advantage at halftime. Durant and Curry each had 18 points in the half to lead the Warriors, while Anderson led San Antonio with 10 points.

The Warriors worked to finish off San Antonio in the early stages of the third quarter, moving to a 78-56 lead on two Green free throws at the 8:25 mark. But the Spurs would not quit, forging a 19-7 run to cut the lead back to 85-75 on a jumper by Bryn Forbes with 2:49 to play in the period. Golden State responded with an 11-3 surge of its own to end the period and took a 96-78 cushion into the final period.

The fourth quarter was mostly mop-up time for the Warriors, who never let San Antonio get within 13 points while closing out the victory.

"Everybody tries to put together as much talent as they can, and that's what (Golden State) did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Make no mistake -- they're really talented. But that's not the whole equation. That's not everything that describes them.

"(Golden State is) maybe the best defensive team in the league on top of everything. So they don't just play with talent. They execute at the defensive end of the floor. On offense, no team is more unselfish finding the open man and that sort of thing. Coaches are always trying to get their team to do that. But they've got a multitude of people who are unselfish in that regard and play a beautiful game. They're way, way more than just their talent."

NOTES: Golden State has won at least one road game in each of its past 14 playoff series dating back to the first round in 2013, extending a franchise record. Gs Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson and F Draymond Green and have played with the Warriors for all 14 of those postseason series. ... Since the Spurs joined the NBA in 1976, they have made 10 conference finals appearances, which ranks as the most in the league in that time frame. San Antonio is also tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most NBA championships during that span (five). ... Spurs G Manu Ginobili is the only player in NBA history besides LeBron James to record at least 800 rebounds, 800 assists and 300 3-pointers in the postseason. ... The Spurs are now 0-3 under coach Gregg Popovich is series in which they lost the first three games.

Warriors look for knockout punch vs. Spurs

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If there is anything that can stop, or even slow, Golden State on the way to its third straight trip to the NBA Finals, it hasn't been found yet by the three teams the Warriors have faced so far in the playoffs.

On Monday, the short-handed San Antonio Spurs, injury-ravaged losers of the first three games of the Western Conference finals, will take one more shot at beating Golden State when the teams square off for Game 4 of their best-of-seven series.

No team in NBA playoff history has come back to win a series after losing the first three games. The chances that the Spurs, with or without injured star forward and erstwhile MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard, can do so are monumental, at best.

Leonard is a near-certainty to miss the contest due to an ankle injury. Fellow Spurs forward David Lee (knee) also could sit out.

The Warriors rolled to a 120-108 win on Saturday behind 33 points from Kevin Durant, 17 of which came consecutively during the third quarter after the Spurs closed within 69-65. Golden State's wave and wave of talented players came alive when the Warriors were needed the most, and -- all the great coaching and proper preparation aside -- San Antonio just couldn't muster a meaningful response.

"For us to win, we have to play at a 10 level and they have to play at a 7," San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili said after the loss in Game 3. "We know it's going to be very tough. We don't know what's going to happen with Kawhi, so we have to be out there, compete, feel good about yourself, give everything you have, and if it's enough, great. If it's not, great, too."

Golden State has now won all 11 games in this postseason -- it swept the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz before taking the first three games in the conference finals -- and has garnered victories in 26 of its past 27 overall contests.

"As players, you want to go out there and win as much as possible and play as great as you can," Durant said when asked about the Warriors' domination. "Whatever happens with the score happens. So, we leave that to the fans who feel upset. If you don't like it, don't watch it."

About the only chance the Spurs would seem to have to extend the series past Monday to a Game 5 in Oakland on Wednesday would stem on some level of complacency by Golden State. If Stephen Curry's comments after Game 3 are to be believed, it's more likely that the Warriors will go for the knockout punch and their third straight series sweep in Game 4.

"I'm not surprised that we are up 3-0 -- our goal is to win every game we play," Curry said. "Obviously, sometimes it doesn't happen like that, but we've answered a lot of challenges throughout the course of the playoffs and learned a lot of lessons, obviously through winning.

"But against the Spurs, they challenge you no matter who is out there, and you've got to play well to beat them. So, we obviously know Game 4 is going to be even tougher, with the chance to close it out. They're going to go down swinging, so we have to really come in focused and with a lot of energy to get it done on Monday."

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said Sunday after the team's practice that he does not expect Leonard to play on Monday.

"It wouldn't make much sense," Popovich said. "If (Leonard) was unable to play yesterday, I don't think there's going to be a miraculous healing by tomorrow."

If this is the end of the line for the Spurs, it has been a memorable -- if incomplete -- campaign. San Antonio is a team no opponent can take for granted, so writing off the Spurs is hard, even with these dire circumstances.

"I've been saying this the whole time -- the Spurs are not just going to lay down for us," Warriors acting coach Mike Brown said. "The building is going to be energized. The group is going to be ready to play, so we have to make sure that we come out and we play the right way."