- Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova drives against Golden State during the first half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Cleveland. Photo: Tony Dejak
Coming into Game 3 of the NBA Finals the Cleveland Cavaliers return home with all of the confidence and momentum as they face the Golden State Warriors with the series tied 1-1. The Cavs are an Iman Shumpert missed three pointer away from being up 2-0 and the Warriors have no rhythm offensively. Stephen Curry has been at the center of the Warriors’ shooting issues with his struggles in Game 2 being highly publicized. He will look to turn that around in Game 3 and show the world why he was chosen as the league MVP.
1st Quarter
The Cavs came out firing taking an early lead and controlling the tempo yet again for the third straight game. Curry continued his shooting woes, making his first three-point attempt but missing every other shot going 1-4 from the field. The combination of Klay Thompson, Festus Ezeli and Andre Iguodala lifted the Warriors and kept them close throughout the quarter, each contributing four points. But the ball movement of the Cavaliers offense was too much for the Warriors to contend with as seldom scoring Tristan Thompson had a great quarter scoring six points and pulling down seven rebounds. At the end of the first quarter the Cavs were leading 24-20.
1st Quarter Stat Leaders
Cle – Tristan Thompson – 6 pts, 7 rebs
GSW – Andre Iguodala – 4 pts, 3 ast
2nd Quarter
The Warriors started the quarter by tying up the game but Cleveland responded and took control yet again. The crowd was loud and heavily into the game at this point and due to the noise a manageable Cleveland lead felt much larger. The game was being played at the Cavs slow pace and the Warriors offensive explosion that they had throughout the regular season was non-existent. Matthew Dellavedova played suffocating defense on Curry for the second straight game and there were points where the Curry was looking frustrated as he struggled to find a flow to his shot. The Cavaliers offense, on the other hand, was flowing, as other players besides LeBron James were taking shots and getting quality looks. This allowed James to take more shots in the paint and be free to face one-on-one matchups more often. On the final shot of the half, James Jones hit a big three pointer to make the crowd erupt and give the Cavs all the momentum going into halftime. The Cavs stifling defense holds Golden State to a 17 point quarter as they take a 44-37 lead going into the half.
Halftime Stat Leaders
Cle – LeBron James – 13 pts, 9 rebs, 3 ast
GSW – Andre Iguodala – 10 pts, 4 rebs, 4 ast
3rd Quarter
Andrew Bogut scores hs first points of the game hitting the Warriors first two shots of the half, but he was not enough to keep the Cavs from getting a head of steam. Matthew Dellavedova found some confidence and rattled off two straight buckets of his own to give the Cavs their largest lead of the game, putting them up by 10 points. The teams then began to trade baskets for majority of the quarter. But a few key defensive stops by Cleveland and sloppy plays by the Warriors allow the Cavs to jump out to an even bigger lead. The Cavs were able to stretch their lead out as large as 20 points, but the Warriors were able to get a few points back ending the quarter with the score of 72-55, Cavs lead.
3rd Quarter Leaders
Cle – LeBron James – 26 pts, 10 rebs, 7 ast
GSW – Stephen Curry – 10 pts, 4 rebs, 5 ast
4th Quarter
The Warriors start off the fourth quarter with an 8-0 scoring run to get the score within nine points. James started the quarter on the bench, but sloppy offensive execution by the Cavs caused him to come into the game with barely a minute off the clock. The Cavs begin to get in sync and protect their lead as it became a foul calling frenzy mid way through the quarter. The Warriors begin to find their touch from the three-point line and started to show the explosive offense that they were known for. They were able to get the lead down to just six at the half way point of the quarter. Golden State continued to pour it on and threatened to tie the game a few times. with Curry refusing to let the Cavs close the game out, he scored 11 points in the quarter, finally finding his shooting stroke. The Cavs use a 11-3 scoring run late in the quarter to give themselves the breathing room they need to win Game 3 with a final score of 96-91.
Wrap-Up
If there is ever a good time to have a coming out party, the NBA Finals is a best place to do it. Dellavedova’s hustle, grit and pure will to win on every single possession is what has allowed the Cavs to to take control of the series and defend home court. The big question for the Cavs was who was going to step up and help James now that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were both out: Dellavedova has done just that. The Warriors continued to play the Cavs’ style game until the fourth quarter when they exploded and the sharp shooting excitement returned. Despite the loss, there is a bright spot for the Warriors, Curry finally found his shooting stroke again, and almost shot Golden State to victory. The Warriors showed their lack of experience in this game looking frustrated and even defeated at times up until their leader and league MVP Curry did his best to lift them. They will have to hope that he can sustain this into Game 4 or they risk going down 3-1. The Cavs carry confidence and a 2-1 lead to Game 4 back in Cleveland on Thursday, June 12 at 9 PM ET.
Final Key Contributor Stats
Cle
LeBron James – 40 pts, 12 rebs, 8 ast
Matthew Dellavedova – 20 pts, 5 rebs, 4 ast
Tristan Thompson – 10 pts, 13 rebs
J.R. Smith – 10 pts, 4 rebs
GSW
Stephen Curry – 27 pts, 6 rebs, 6 ast
Andre Iguodala – 15 pts, 5 rebs, 5 ast
Klay Thompson – 14 pts, 5 rebs
David Lee – 11 pts, 4 rebs, 2 ast