NBA Finals 2015: Complete Breakdown of Pivotal Game 3

Can Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors bounce back, or will LeBron James continue to carry the Cleveland Cavaliers closer to an improbable championship Tuesday in Game 3 of the 2015 NBA Finals? 

The teams tip off at 9 p.m. ET in their first game since Cleveland stunned Golden State with a 95-93 overtime road victory in Game 2. 

Curry, the league’s MVP, turned in a historically poor performance. He shot 5-of-23 from the field and went 2-of-15 from beyond the arc. Curry set the record for most missed three-pointers in an NBA Finals game, according to Des Bieler of the Washington Post. 

Shockingly, Curry experienced a lot of difficulty when defended by scrappy Cleveland guard Matthew Dellavedova, according to ESPN.  

However, NBA legend Charles Barkley does not see Dellavedova as a threat to stop Curry. He told Bleacher Report Radio, "Steph Curry will kill that kid in the overall scheme of things.”  

After the game, Curry dismissed his performance as just a bad night, per the Washington Post’s Michael Lee. 

“I doubt this will happen again,” Curry said. “Shots I normally make I knew as soon as they left my hand that they were off."

Curry should rebound from a fluky Game 2 performance. He is arguably the most dynamic guard in the NBA. Based on his comments after Game 2, Curry is not discouraged and should be back to his elite self against the athletically overmatched Dellavedova in Game 3. Despite the Game 2 statistics, there will be more instances of Curry making Dellavedova and the Cleveland defense look silly, like this play:   

Meanwhile, James seems to be adding to his legacy every game. Including this postseason, the Warriors were 47-3 at Oracle Arena before James led Cleveland to a Game 2 victory without fellow stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Thus, the Cavaliers neutralized Golden State’s home-court advantage in the series. 

James, who notched a triple-double in Game 2 with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists, is garnering plenty of attention for his dominant performance in this year’s Finals. For The Win’s Nick Schwartz asserted James is delivering one of the greatest Finals performances ever and he will win the Finals MVP even if Cleveland loses the series. 

ESPN’s Chris Broussard seems to agree that James is turning in one of the greatest NBA playoff performances ever.   

James is also logging heavy minutes. According to Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports, James has sat only 10 minutes through the first two games of this series. This is taking a toll on James, who has a history of knee and back problems, per Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.

"

Did you see how I walked in here? I'm feeling it. I'm feeling it right now for sure. We already have started on my rehab. I will get rehab on the plane. We've got a five hour flight back home, and we've got all around-the-clock treatment [Monday] and get ready for Game 3. I'll be ready.

"

The key storyline moving forward in this series is James. There is no indication that Cleveland head coach David Blatt will reduce his minutes, so will James be able to physically hold up? James has essentially carried his team to this point, and if he can complete this run with a team of role players, it truly might be of the best Finals performances in league history. 

No matter the outcome of Game 3, it is still early and the series is far from over. At the very least, the Warriors should feel that they need to win at least one game in Cleveland in order to regain the home-court advantage that helped propel them to 67 regular-season wins. Cleveland has not hosted an NBA Finals game since 2007, so expect the crowd to make it tough on Golden State.