Game 3 of the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and LA Clippers brought on a scoring clinic from Kevin Durant, as the Warriors forward torched Patrick Beverley and the Clippers in the first half, then putting on the finishing touches in the third quarter of what would be a coast-to-coast 132-105 win for the defending champions. Draymond Green didn't make much of Beverley's defensive antics against Durant for the first two games of the series, knowing it's only a matter of time before Durant kicks it into gear:
Article Continues Below“I don't really talk about other players during the series,” Green told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, when asked about Beverley. “But I like Kevin in that matchup, regardless of what [Beverley] does. I like Kevin in any matchup, with whoever. Anytime. Period.
“No one's defense matters, by the way. I've been on the other side of that [defensive matchup with Durant] and mine didn't either. I like that matchup with anybody.”
Durant had yet to finish a game this series, as he was ejected along with Beverley late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 and then fouled out shortly after Beverley in Game 2. In a way, he didn't finish Game 3 either, enjoying the superstar rest after putting the Clippers away with relative ease through the first three quarters.
Green has been at the other end of that helplessness, as Durant averaged 3o points and scored 26 or more in each of the seven games against the Warriors during that brutal Western Conference Finals in 2016.
The 6-foot-1 Beverley was helpless against Durant, who easily rose over the top of his defender to shoot lightly contested shots through the first half. Beyond the antics, there was little Beverley or any other defender could do to contain a man on a mission.