One of the selling points for Durant for signing with the Warriors last summer was the refreshing unselfishness of the main stars. For all of his desire to shoot high-risk 3s and those two MVP awards he owns, Curry lacks ball-hog DNA. At this stage, he has nothing to prove, anyway, and same for Thompson and Draymond Green. They’re not threatened by Durant.

And vice versa. As Durant said: “Every playoff game is different. Those shots (for me) might not be there the next game. That’s the beauty of basketball.”

Durant had that same green-light luxury in Oklahoma City — to an extent, anyway. Strangely enough, there were many times when he took fewer shots than his point guard, Russell Westbrook. Though he never complained, and if anything lashed out at critics who felt Westbrook was being selfish, Durant quickly became at ease with the system at Golden State. His was a seamless inclusion without any painful or awkward stretches. And welcomes the lack of urgency to score 30 a night.

He even missed a pair of games in the first round against the Blazers and the Warriors didn’t suffer. But as the stakes and opponents rise as they progress through the playoff minefield, the Warriors are comforted to know that Durant is healthy and willing, if necessary, to become the lead singer at any time.

Not trying to sound arrogant, Durant said: “I’ve been doing this for so long. Every day I get out of bed I feel I can score.”

7:20Play

It’s very possible, based on the evidence so far, that the Warriors won’t know the true extent of Durant’s value unless — until? — they meet the Cavs in the NBA Finals. Given how the teams went the seven-game limit last summer, Durant could be the swing vote.

He has spoken openly about his desire to win a championship, about the pain caused by losing to LeBron James and the Heat six years ago, and the greater pain caused by an inability to return to the Finals. That discomfort led him to the Warriors, in a severe case of the rich-getting-richer, and if that stacks the deck on Golden State’s favor, Durant responds with a shrug. That’s not his problem, though it might be yours if you’re bothered by it.

The next order of business for the Warriors comes Monday in Game 4, where they’ll find a home team that’s wobbling. Utah hasn’t been able to beat an inconsistent Warriors in three games, and now they’ll see a determined Warriors trying to finish the job and go home to rest for the Western Conference finals.

The Jazz could also be without starting point guard George Hill again with a bum toe; meanwhile, there are serious signs that playoff hero Joe Johnson is beginning to wear (seven points in Game 3). They’re also 1-3 at home in the playoffs. Solid team. Gordon Hayward is showing to be a nice enough player. Compared to Golden State, however, the experience and depth and star power is lacking.

Meanwhile: How long will those shots skim off the rim for Curry (6 for 20 Saturday), who’s shooting 46 percent overall, well below his customary 50 percent? And what about Thompson, who is below 40 percent for the entire playoffs? At some point they’ll start connecting and Golden State will remove all doubt for 48 minutes. Another plus: Green just got his first technical Saturday. It took him seven games. That’s progress.

As he walked to the bench, Green began teasing the Jazz fans, saying: “I just reminded them that they were down 2-0.”

It’s now three. The Warriors are making shots when they need to, and turning their defense up a few notches, and protecting the ball (no second-half turnovers in Game 3, only seven overall). They’re doing whatever’s necessary.

“We wanted to come out and take a commanding lead,” said Durant, at the moment serving as the commanding leader of the Warriors.

Honestly? Deep down, they wanted to keep pace with you-know-who. Unbeaten and mostly unscratched, the Warriors are doing their part to keep hope alive. If you polled independent basketball fans, there’s only one Finals matchup they’d like to see.

The score is now Golden State/Cleveland 14, Everyone In Their Way 0. It could be insurmountable.

Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.