Social media reacts to Kevin Durant, Warriors beating Cavs in NBA Finals Game 3

Well, we finally got a game in the NBA Finals.

Kevin Durant laid his claim to the 2017 NBA Finals MVP, sparking an 11-0 run to finish the game for a 118-113 Golden State win over Cleveland. The Warriors took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

And social media reacted.

LINK: On Stephen Curry’s othewordly play in the Finals, and the celebration move that has Cavs’ fans miffed

Former Celtic Paul Pierce, who started a social media firestorm this week for suggesting Durant had surpassed LeBron James as the world’s best player, had fun after Durant made what is probably the series-winning 3.

“I’ve been working on that shot my whole life,” Durant said. “For that shot to go in, it was liberating, man.”

Despite Durant’s other-worldly play, some fans are still upset that he left an OKC team that was up 3-1 on the Warriors in the NBA Western Conference Finals a year ago.

The first two games of the Finals were pretty horrific blowouts but fans tuned in. Guessing here, but with a much more competitive Game 3, ratings will be through the roof.

Before Game 3 began, two Cavs fans showed off their dislike for the Chef

One problem Cleveland has had all series is keeping close when LeBron James is off the floor. In the first quarter, it happened again -- James went out and Golden State created separation -- and former Charlotte Hornet and North Carolina Tar Heel J.R. Reid took to Twitter with an astute post.

USA Today national college football writer Dan Wolken remembers the last time LeBron was in Cleveland and was dominated in the Finals.

Later in the first half, Reid was back with yet another astute tweet as James’ supporting cast continued to appear M.I.A. (Yes, we know that Kyrie Irving REALLY got going later).

And ESPN sent this out which proved his point.

Oh, and this, too

This has nothing to do with the game, but it was entertaining -- LeBron talking about a football player not being the greatest athlete of all time (this is tongue-in-cheek entertainment, but fun nonetheless)

And this creativity was impressive on the meme, which was also timely, given Draymond Green’s troubles staying on the floor.

Charlotte-area high school basketball star Jonathan Hicklin kind of summed up all Cavs fans watching the NBA Finals this year, even during the points when the games are in doubt.

To finish up, here’s a look at Durant’s heroic shot that made the Warriors champions for the second time in three years.

Well, before we go, Charles Barkley told Draymond Green on NBA TV during a postgame interview that the series was “OVA,” but a tweet from the account of Cavs guard JR Smith read “Cavs in 7.” Smith later said he was “too smart” to put something out like immediately after the game. He said he was hacked. He later posted the following on Instagram.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Social media reacts to Kevin Durant, Warriors beating Cavs in NBA Finals Game 3."