OAKLAND, CALIF.—Steph Curry is magic. He has expanded basketball’s galaxy, flying beyond the sport’s known horizon, shooting in ways nobody else can. Steve Nash once said he wished he had seen Steph play when Nash was young, so he would have known how it was possible to play the game.But he is one man, and against these Toronto Raptors he is not enough. Not with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant hurt; not with Draymond Green an all-time glue guy who can’t create his own offence; not with DeMarcus Cousins resembling an iceberg. There are limits to elasticity. Even the Warriors can stretch until they break.So yes, Curry was miraculous and the Warriors hung around, and Toronto won Game 3 by a score of 123-109. This should have been a blowout from the start. But the Raptors lead the series two games to one, and the chance to push the Warriors dynasty to the edge is here.Toronto should have run away with the game, despite Kawhi Leonard looking limited in the first half. Kyle Lowry and Danny Green played their best games of the series, Pascal Siakam got involved, and the offence spent the first 16 minutes rolling. It was only an eight-point lead at the half. Golden State tried, all the way.Still, the Raptors were pretty much always in control, or close to it. There have been games when even with Thompson and Durant on the floor, you wondered why anybody but Curry takes a shot. One sad aspect of Durant’s arrival was that Curry’s elfin magic was partially overshadowed, even if he remains the most terrifying offensive player in the game. James Harden can’t catch and shoot from anywhere within 30 feet; Durant, for all his powers, doesn’t exert gravity like Steph. So with Thompson out and Durant still out, Curry was finally given a seat at the all-you-can-eat basketball buffet. Curry had 17 points and assists on three of Golden State’s four other baskets in the first quarter; he had 25 points, eight rebounds and four assis ...
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