On a night where the Cleveland Cavaliers had home court, it was a down to the wire and drama-filled Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the defending champion Cavaliers and the undefeated Golden State Warriors. Cleveland looked to take a game to make it a series, while the Warriors look to go one step closer to winning the Larry O’Brien trophy.
In the first quarter, Golden State attacked right away, making 9 for 14 from beyond the arc, a new Finals record for any team scoring three-pointers in a single quarter. Despite Cleveland’s effort to draw close with their scoring, the Warriors seemingly pulled ahead and stayed in the lead towards the end of the first quarter, leading 39 to 32.
In the second quarter, the Cavaliers started to answer back with scoring from LeBron James, Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith, pulling within the Warriors’ lead. Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant would put a dent in the Cavs’ chances to take back the lead with their contributions on the offensive end. Kyrie Irving made his presence felt in the closing moments of the game, including a buzzer beating layup to close the first half as the Warriors led 67 to 61.
Into the third quarter, Smith, Irving, and Love led the charge for the Cavaliers, knocking down Golden State’s lead. Cleveland would eventually get their first lead since the first quarter, but it would be short lived as Curry and Draymond Green put the Warriors ahead again. Both teams jostled for the lead until Irving would put Cleveland ahead with a slew of layups. By the end of the third quarter, Cleveland led 94 to 89.
As the fourth quarter commenced, Golden State jumped out ahead with breakaway dunks from Klay Thompson and David West, while LeBron and Kyle Korver knocked down three-pointers for Cleveland. With the Cavaliers leading 102 to 95, Durant and Curry would knock down three-pointers of their own to bring Golden State within one. Afterwards, LeBron and Smith answered back with two free throws and a three-pointer respectively for Cleveland, only for Curry and Durant to once again bring the Warriors close. With Cleveland leading 113 to 111, Durant’s three-pointer, along with two free throws from Curry sealed the game for Golden State with a score of 118 to 113.
The Golden State Warriors continue to steamroll through the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. Though the Cavaliers’ surge in the second half looked to hinder the Warriors, it would be Durant’s late game heroics that would give the Warriors a commanding 3 to nothing lead in the series.
”All I was looking at was the bottom of the net,” Durant said. ”I’ve been working on that shot my whole life. To see that go in, that was liberating, man. We’ve got one more to go.”
The Cavaliers’ defense was touch and go in this game. It seemed like the Cavs had a handle on the contest with their offense, but their defense in certain moments of the game looked to be all over the place.
For the Warriors, Kevin Durant had 31 points, Klay Thompson with 30 points, and Stephen Curry with a double-double of 26 points and 13 rebounds.
For the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving made 38 points, J.R. Smith scored 16 points, and LeBron James with a double-double of 39 points and 11 rebounds.
The Warriors are not only one away from regaining the Larry O’Brien trophy, but they are also one game away from being the first NBA team to go undefeated in the postseason. Game 4 of the NBA Finals takes place Friday at 9pm on ABC.
The Heat Check Magazine 