CLEVELAND, US: Kevin Durant scored 31 points, seven of them in the closing minutes, and the Golden State Warriors beat Cleveland 118-113 Wednesday, seizing command of the NBA Finals and extending their undefeated playoff run in dramatic fashion.
The Warriors scored the last 11 points to stretch their record playoff win streak this season to 15-0 and grabbed a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Golden State, which also had 30 points from Klay Thompson and 26 from Stephen Curry, would become the first team in NBA history to make an unbeaten playoff run to the crown by winning game four on Friday in Cleveland.
No team in NBA playoff history has ever rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, although the Cavaliers did become the first team in NBA Finals history to rally from a 3-1 hole to swipe the crown over Golden State last year.
The Warriors, already on the longest playoff win streak in NBA history, set the North American sports playoff win streak mark with their 15th consecutive triumph, moving past the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins’ 14-game run from the 1992 and 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs.
LeBron James had 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Cavaliers, and Kyrie Irving added 38 points. Blown out in the first two games, the Cavaliers were much better in Game 3, but just not good enough to beat a team that could go down as one of the best ever.
Game 4 is in Cleveland on Friday night.
Durant’s late heroics brings Warriors close to sweeping Cavs
Durant’s late heroics brings Warriors close to sweeping Cavs
Record prize of up to $200k for a 9-darter at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters
- Players who complete a perfect leg will receive $100,000, with the chance to double it by hitting the bullseye with a bonus 10th dart
- 8 Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on 8 of Asia’s top players in the tournament on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City
RIYADH: Players at the Saudi Arabia Darts Masters in Riyadh next week have a chance to win a record-breaking cash prize for a nine-dart finish, with up to $200,000 up for grabs for a perfect leg.
Eight Professional Darts Corporation stars will take on eight of Asia’s leading players at the tournament, which is part of Riyadh Season, on Jan. 19 and 20 at the Global Theater in Boulevard City.
Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of the Kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority, revealed on Thursday that any player who hits a perfect nine-darter during the event will receive a $100,000 bonus, with the chance to double it through the Riyadh Season Bullseye Challenge.
With the leg already won, the player will throw a 10th dart, and if it hits the bullseye the prize will be doubled to $200,000, the biggest amount ever offered by a PDC-sanctioned event for a nine-darter.
Reigning world champion Luke Littler, who will head the line-up in Riyadh, previously hit a nine-darter on the World Series of Darts stage at the Bahrain Masters in 2024.
He will be joined by 2023/24 world champion Luke Humphries, world championship runner-up Gian van Veen, and three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen.
The PDC contingent also includes former world champion Gerwyn Price, world No. 7 Stephen Bunting, former UK Open winner Danny Noppert, and 2023 World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall.
Asia will be represented by Singapore veteran Paul Lim, who in 1990 famously threw the first televised World Darts Championship nine-darter, alongside Filipinos Alexis Toylo, Lourence Ilagan and Paolo Nebrida, Japan’s Motomu Sakai, Ryusei Azemoto and Tomoya Goto, and Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung.
