After the damage LeBron James did in Game 2 against the Indiana Pacers, it seemed as if the tide had changed and the Cleveland Cavaliers figured out how to get past this series. Just feed it to the King every time and let him cook.
That momentum carried over to the first half of Game 3 in Indiana as well, with the Cavs going up as much as 17 points by halftime on the road against Indiana.
But the Pacers kept clawing and fighting back in the second half.
Cleveland figured out how to pester Victor Oladipo on the trap and get the ball out of his hands but they never expected someone like Bojan Bogdanovic to beat them. He snapped for 30 points in the game, hitting some very clutch three pointers down the stretch that gave them the lead and kept them just ahead of the Cavs.
He also played a big role in playing defense against King James, even after getting in foul trouble in the first half.
Kevin Love also hit a monster triple to put Cleveland within one point with only seconds remaining, but it was JR Smith who thought could pull off a heroic shot as time expired.
Except he missed it completely.
Regardless, Cavs players better step it up and help LeBron because he clearly can’t do everything. Late in the fourth, Love and Smith had wide open looks that didn’t go in. Clarkson was open on the final play that had a better chance of going in than the prayer by JR.
The Cavs need to focus for Game 4 and make better decisions and overall, just help LeBron more offensively if they have any shot at advancing to the second round.