Key Takeaways from Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 3 Win over Golden State Warriors
LeBron James and Matthew Dellavedova got just enough help from their teammates in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 96-91 win over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals. However, the main takeaway from Game 3 is this series will ultimately come down to the battle of the MVPs, and Cleveland has the edge.
The Warriors looked flustered throughout the second and third quarters, with Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov imposing their will on the defensive end—altering seemingly every shot that came their way in the low post—helping the Cavs take a commanding 68-48 lead late in the third.
Cleveland fought for every loose ball like it wanted it more than Golden State did during that stretch. The Warriors' body language implied that they were a defeated group.
ESPN.com's J.A. Adande made note of Cleveland's dominance down low, and Warriors reporter Rosalyn Gold-Onwude provided a telling stat about the Cavs defense:
They couldn't sustain that level of execution throughout the contest, but the Cavs displayed the physical and gritty style of defense they're capable of playing.
If Cleveland can get back to performing with that same kind of energy on D for the remainder of the series, the Warriors will be rattled and unsteady with the ball in their hands, the way they were for much of Game 3.
On Tuesday night, the Cavs held on for the win, thanks to the duo of James and Dellavedova, despite a 17-point fourth quarter from Stephen Curry.
The tandem carried Cleveland to victory, as evidenced by this nugget courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info:
After a Curry three-pointer made it an 81-80 game with just under three minutes to play, Dellavedova banked an off-balance floater that looked like something out of a game of "H-O-R-S-E" and completed the three-point play by knocking down the subsequent free throw. He finished with 20 points.
On the next Golden State possession, Curry tried to get fancy and threw away a behind-the-back pass intended for Draymond Green.
James—a four-time MVP—responded to the 2015 MVP's mishap with a three-pointer of his own.
This sequence in the waning minutes of the game summed up the series to this point.
Over the last two games, Curry hasn't come through for his team.
He shot 5-of-23 in Game 2, including 2-of-15 from three-point range. He wound up scoring 27 points and shooting 50 percent from the field in Game 3, but he was pretty much a non-factor until the fourth quarter. Most of his points came on desperation shots, with Golden State down big, and, to his credit, he made most of them.
But James, on the other hand, has been a force every second he's been on the floor; be it with his passing, by hitting jumpers, taking it to the hole or playing lockdown defense.
He finished just shy of another triple-double, compiling 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in Game 3.
Consider this mind-blowing tweet from Jason Lloyd, Cavaliers beat writer for the Akron Beacon Journal:
Before Tuesday's game, James hinted at having a "secret source of motivation," according to Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
One can only speculate as to exactly who or what James was referring to, but could it be that James feels he deserved his fifth MVP trophy this year?
That seems like a real possibility based on this tweet from Don Bell of Fox Sports:
So far in the NBA Finals, it's been clear who the NBA's Most Valuable Player is.
LeBron James is two wins away from silencing any remaining detractors. Two wins away from bringing the Larry O'Brien Trophy over to Cleveland. Two wins away from securing the most important personal accolade of them all—the NBA Finals MVP—for the third time in his career. He'll make sure this one doesn't go to Curry.
