In a must-win game at home, the Cleveland Cavaliers built a 20-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 120-90 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night in Cleveland, cutting Golden State’s series lead to 2-1.
The NBA Finals get real but stay absurd
“Well, they had good spacing with Kevin, and they’ll have good spacing with Richard,” Kerr said before the game. “The difference is just the speed, the ability to get to the rim. Richard is more of a three, obviously, than a four. So they’re really going to spread us out and it should give them more driving lanes and more room for LeBron (James) to operate.
“We’re going to have to try to do what we’ve done the first two games, which is cover the three-point line and also try to cut off LeBron’s penetration and keep him from getting all the way to the hoop. It’s a lot easier said than done, and I think it may be more difficult tonight, at least, to start the game with that lineup.”
Read Article >Cavs breathe life into NBA Finals with Game 3 rout
And not only did Cleveland do that, it blew out the Warriors in a manner that puts this series in a whole new light. While Golden State is undeniably still heavily favored with a 2-1 series lead, the talk of a sweep needs to be tabled. The Cavs are officially back in this, and they did it by whooping the Warriors.
Cleveland jumped out to a 9-0 lead in Game 3, then pushed it out to 33-16 by the end of the first quarter. Golden State punched back from there to cut the margin to eight points by halftime, but the Cavs responded with a 38-26 third quarter that showed there would be no second-half stumble.
Read Article >LeBron blocked Steph’s dunk attempt after whistle
Oh well, it’s mostly inconsequential. Yay chippiness!
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Read Article >GSW can’t even get a 2-on-1 to work
Things are REALLY not going well for the Warriors on Wednesday. The entire futile effort can be summed up in about five seconds. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson on a 2-on-1 fast break is usually a defense’s worst nightmare. In that situation, the opposing team might be lucky if the Warriors only score two points. Yet somehow, the Warriors turned this into just another failed possession.
The pass from Curry wasn’t great. Thompson struggled to handle it a bit then missed the shot. It was everything the Warriors don’t do. That’s been the entire Game 3.
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