CLEVELAND — And just like that, we’ve got ourselves a competitive and enticing NBA Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers annihilated the Golden State Warriors 120-90 Wednesday in Game 3, cutting the series deficit to 2-1. It was a surprising, momentum shifting win that could potentially change the rest of the series.
Kyrie Irving silenced critics with a scintillating 30-point performance. The 24-year-old point guard was flat out unstoppable for most of the game, no matter who was guarding him. LeBron James was flying around everywhere with supreme confidence on his home floor and his jump shot was on. The King totaled 32 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Irving tossed a soul-crushing Alley-oop to a soaring James late in the third quarter, putting Cleveland up 79-59. J.R. Smith even added 20 points on five made triples.
Game 3s continue to be a nightmare under head coach Steve Kerr. The Warriors have lost all four of this postseason’s Game 3 contests, and lost last year’s Game 3 to Cleveland in the NBA Finals. The Warriors were hesitant and unsure of themselves on offense, and completely lost on defense. Five straight Game 3 losses is a scary trend.
With Golden State set to go up 3-0 in the series, Steph Curry turned in one of his most untimely playoff performances. The MVP scored 2 points in the first half but finished with a team-high 19 (it felt nowhere near that amount), committed 6 turnovers, looked rattled and completely out of his game-changing element. The major storyline leading into Friday’s Game 4 is why Curry has been so ineffective in three games against the Cavaliers, and whether or not he can fix it.
The blame can’t solely rest on Curry’s shoulders. Golden State had just one productive player on the night when the game was within reach: Harrison Barnes (18 points, 8 rebounds). Klay Thompson had one of his poorer shot selection nights, making 4/13 attempts while scoring just 10 points. The Warriors struggled when Andrew Bogut was on the floor and Andre Iguodala’s defensive stranglehold on LeBron ended in Game 3. The bench spark from Shaun Livingston and Leandro Barbosa was also missing, the pair combined for 12 points. LeBron had his way with Draymond Green for chunks of the night. Green was mostly quiet with 6 points, 7 rebound and 7 assists.
The absence of Kevin Love actually opened up the floor for Cleveland. The Cavaliers converted 12/25 of their three-pointers, igniting a deafening Quicken Loans Arena crowd. Irving and company played completely rejuvenated basketball in front of their home fans.
The Warriors looked jittery from the get-go, falling behind 9-0 to start the game, where the crowd may have played a part in the nerves. The Cavaliers found themselves up 33-13 late in the first quarter and shot 71 percent in the opening tilt. Golden State rallied to outscore Cleveland 27-18 in the second quarter, but the Cavs’ control of the game felt stronger than their 51-43 halftime lead. This game felt eerily similar to Games 3 and 4 in Oklahoma City, not a good sign for the Warriors.
You can listen to Game 4 on KNBR 1050 and KGO 810 at 6 p.m.
