There was only one way the Cleveland Cavaliers were going to win against the Golden State Warriors at home to crawl back in this NBA Finals series. Well, more than one way, actually.
Number one: LeBron James would have to put the team on his back and go off for 40+ points, with the rest of the Big 3 of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love doing their part to contribute.
Number 2: If scenario one didn’t play out quite like that, the Cavs role players would have to step up at home and do their part to help LeBron, Kyrie and Kevin.
So what happened tonight? Two of the Big 3 completely snapped and the bench didn’t provide much firepower to combat the firing Warriors offense. They kept the game close during the second half, but it wasn’t nearly enough, as Kevin Durant came through in the clutch for the Dubs. That three-pointer he launched to take the lead put the dagger in their hearts tonight.
Even after Cleveland took the biggest lead of the series, it wasn’t enough. The Warriors kept fighting back, keeping the game close, until they took the lead late in the fourth quarter again and never looked back. When the final buzzer sounded and the Warriors had another W under their belt.
Where was Tristan Thompson? Only scoring 0 points and grabbing 3 rebounds. Kevin Love had 13 rebounds, but only 9 points. JR Smith had 16 points and Kyle Korver had some big three’s, but they need more than that if they intend to even win a game in this series.
James finished the game one assist shy of another triple double, scoring a monster 39 points, snatching down 11 rebounds and getting 9 assists. Irving had 38 points of his own.
Meanwhile, Durant had a cool 31 points and 8 rebounds. Steph Curry dropped 26 points and had 13 rebounds and Klay Thompson provided a solid 30 points in the win.
The Cavs certainly put forth the effort to win, but they have to play a damn near flawless game and make little to zero mistakes against the Warriors when they’re going off. Plus, you can’t go 0-8 shooting when Golden State is on an 11-0 run.
Game 4 in Cleveland goes down on Friday at 9pm EST.
Do the Cavs stand a chance to win one game at home? Is this series heading back to the Bay Area and finishing at Oracle Arena or should the Dubs just end it in Cleveland while they can?
Oh, one more thing: 15-0. 16-0 coming soon?
FINAL: GS 118 | CLE 113