Cavs' Outlook Even Bleaker Knowing Brilliant Performances Still Aren't Enough

CLEVELAND — Less than a year after the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, the Cleveland Cavaliers have dug an even deeper hole.

Despite superhuman performances from LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, the Cavs dropped Game 3 by a final score of 118-113, giving the Golden State Warriors a 3-0 series lead.

James finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, while Irving sliced through Golden State's crowded paint for 38 points, making 16 of his 22 shots from inside the arc. Admittedly, Irving struggled mightily from the three-point line, but his ability to take over with his scoring was on full display for the first time this series, which is what we thought Cleveland needed.

For one night, the Cavaliers had the best duo on the court. And as it turns out, it still didn't matter.

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"We just felt like the way they play, Kyrie and LeBron had it going the whole game, but that's pretty taxing to go one-on-one the whole game," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said.

"Both those guys were amazing, 38 and 39. But that takes a lot out of you. We just kept telling the guys, 'They're going to get tired. Stay in front of them. Force them into outside shots if you can. Fatigue will play a role.' And I think when you get guys playing 45, 44 minutes, basically attacking one-on-one the whole game, ... you hope eventually it's going to take its toll."

As Golden State went 11 deep in its rotation, Cleveland could only rely on two.

While J.R. Smith provided a spirited 16 points after combining for just three in Games 1 and 2, no other Cavalier scored in double digits. Cleveland's paint duo of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson combined for 1-of-10 shooting from the field.

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Golden State's march toward a perfect 16-0 postseason continues. Despite not having the best player tandem on this given night, the team still got 31 points, eight rebounds and a gutsy dagger from Kevin Durant. It still got 26 points, 13 rebounds and five three-pointers from Stephen Curry.

The Warriors gave up a combined 31-of-56 to James and Irving by the time the final buzzer sounded, and yet they also held the Cavs scoreless in the final 3:09 to close out a game-deciding 11-0 run.

That, among other things (controlling the pace, disappearing role players and defensive efficiency, to name a few), is the problem for the Cavaliers. These Warriors don't have to be perfect to be dominant. A 3-0 deficit is historically an impossible hole to climb out of, yet the outlook for the Cavs looks even bleaker now knowing that brilliant performances from their two best players aren't enough.

In giving the Warriors its best shot, Cleveland made the wrong kind of history with James and Irving combining for the most points all-time by a losing duo in the Finals. This was the first time ever that James and Irving had both scored 30 or more points in the postseason and lost, something Irving didn't think he would live to see.

"Nope. I mean, it's hard to envision," Irving said. "They're definitely a different team than they were last year. That's definitely in full effect ... we're all fully aware. Going down the stretch they're a lot more poised, and when you have pieces like they have, they're able to stretch the floor and give space to a great iso player at the top of the key and make big-time shots. That's what they did."

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James now sits just one game away from his Finals record dropping to 3-5 overall, despite his annual dominant performances. Even averaging 32.0 points, 12.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks against Golden State hasn't been enough to get Cleveland a single victory.

"Before the series even started, we knew what we were dealing with. I said it after we won the Eastern Conference Finals that we're getting ready for a juggernaut. It's probably the most, most firepower I've played in my career.

"I played against some great teams, but I don't think any team has had this type of firepower. So even when you're playing well, you got to play like A-plus-plus, because they're going to make runs, and they're going to make shots, and they've got guys that are going to make plays." 

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The memory of a 3-1 comeback last June seems like decades ago. This deficit is different. This Warriors team, seemingly unstoppable. James, the best basketball player of this generation with two All-Star teammates, doesn't have close to enough help to even make it a competitive series.

A 16-0 playoff record has never been done, yet this Warriors team is making it look easy at times with their ball movement, defense and overall star power. A perfect run through the postseason wasn't the Warriors' goal—at least, not when they began.

"It is now because we took care of tonight," Curry said. "It's not in terms of like 16-0 really, just of what that means historically. It's just that's what's in front of us. We obviously know how hard it is to win a championship, what all goes into it and how important each game is. And now that you can look ahead to Friday, all our focus is on that. ... obviously we want 16 wins; it doesn't matter how we get there."

We know from last year that Cleveland plays its best basketball when backed into a corner, but this appears too much, even for James.

"I gave everything that I had," James said.

As it turns out, everything he had—and everything Irving had—simply wasn't enough.

The 2016-17 Warriors are like no other team we've ever seen before, but they're one we could be seeing for years to come.

Greg Swartz is the Cleveland Cavaliers Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.