Game 4 sometimes became a sideshow because of its officiating.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals was great fun. The Cavaliers got off the mat and avoided a sweep at the hands of the juggernaut Warriors, and they scored 137 points in doing it in front of their home crowd. It was a really unique sports scene.

But the officiating crew of Mike Callahan, John Goble, and Marc Davis did not have a good night. They let the game get bogged down and slide off the rails at the same time, turning it into an occasional sideshow and not the pure basketball game it could’ve been.

Game 3 was perfect basketball promising a competitive series ... and then Golden State won.

The Golden State Warriors — undead zombies, unkillable foes, impossible opponents — won Game 3 in Cleveland on Wednesday. It took them finishing a classic game on an 11-0 run that wrecked Cleveland’s hopes to achieve a stunning 118-113 victory.

Pierce hinted that KD might be better than LeBron after Game 2. After Game 3, he came right out with it.

After Kevin Durant’s heroic Game 3 performance that included a 14-point fourth quarter, Paul Pierce said on ESPN, “What we’re witnessing right here is the changing of the guard.”

It’s high praise, and it’s true.

Here’s a quote from LeBron James after the Cavaliers went down 3-0 in the NBA Finals by losing to the Warriors on Wednesday in Cleveland. In it, James says the Warriors probably have the “most firepower” he’s faced in the NBA:

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving played out of their minds, and yet Golden State still came away up 3-0.

CLEVELAND — We were three minutes away from a series. Just three minutes to make a play, hit a shot, get a stop. Three minutes that will linger for the Cavaliers well into the summer when this is all over and there’s time to digest what might have been.

Good fortune is inextricable from success in the NBA. BOTH teams in the 2017 NBA Finals prove that.

The Warriors had several breaks in putting this remarkable collection of talent together. You know them well. Stephen Curry signed a discount extension after an injury-riddled 2012 season. Draymond Green took less than the max as a restricted free agent. An unprecedented spike in the salary cap aligned perfectly with the free agency of Kevin Durant, coming one year before Curry became an expensive free agent himself.

Durant’s previous foray into the Finals, oft forgotten, was spoiled by LeBron and the Heat. KD is returning the favor.

When we collectively talk about the Thunder’s 2012 NBA Finals run, it’s usually to lament the subsequent trade of James Harden and premature end of what could have been a dynasty. The Thunder’s core, led by Kevin Durant, was so young and full of promise. Despite the loss, it felt like Oklahoma City would be back in the Finals frequently. The Thunder still haven’t been back five years later, and likely won’t be there any time soon after Durant left in 2016.

Kevin Durant is getting exactly what he wanted.

Eleven months ago, as the world heaved under Kevin Durant’s feet, we had a million reasons why Kevin Durant would leave his brodie Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. We had a million reasons why Kevin Durant would join the Golden State Warriors, already the world’s best basketball team (albeit one that had just dropped a championship).