Welcome in to the full recap of Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers where Kyrie Irving and LeBron James made this game interesting with big time performances. But, the Warriors proved to be too much as they came back to beat the champs 118-113 behind Kevin Durant and the Splash Bros.
This will probably be the only good game in this series. The Cavs gave the Warriors everything they got. But, you can't deny these Warriors are just way too OP (overpowering). LeBron and Kyrie gave em hell, but the effort was just futile at the end of the day. The Cavs just look helpless after suffering a crushing defeat in this game.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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Kyrie Irving, 38 points, 16-29 shooting. To quote the commentator from NBA Jam say: "Razzle Dazzle!" The Harlem Globetrotters could use his services. Irving put on a clinic with a lot of moves and circus shots when getting to the basket. He put the degree of difficulty on full display tonight.
LeBron James, 39 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists. No description necessary as to how LeBron played in front of the home crowd. He got his way aggressively attacking the basket, overpowering all kinds of Warriors players in his way.
J.R. Smith, 16 points, 5-10 shooting. The Cavs could use more role players like J.R. Smith to step up. After being a non-factor for the most part in this series, he lit it up tonight from deep. This should be a huge confidence builder as the Cavs look to salvage some pride in Game 4.
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Fouls. For a losing team, I thought this was the only negative from the Cavs and it proved to be costly in the long run. Throughout the game, the Cavs just made a bunch of silly fouls to put the Warriors on the free throw line early. You don't want to give the Warriors any easy points and questionable foul committing from the team played an intricate role in the loss.
Golden State Warriors
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Kevin Durant, 31 points, 8 rebounds. No, he's not Harrison Barnes. Great players come up big in the clutch moments and K.D. was that player for the Warriors. It seemed that the Game 3 curse in Cleveland would continue for the Warriors, but Durant was great from start to finish. He kept the momentum alive for the Warriors when it looked like the game was gonna spiral out of control in the Cavs' favor.
Klay Thompson, 30 points, 11-16 shooting. Encore from Klay after a sensational Game 2 performance. Klay is living up to the X-Factor role and once he goes unconscious and scores, you can kiss any chance of beating the Warriors goodbye.
Stephen Curry, 26 points, 13 rebounds. Curry's starting to become a double-double machine all of a sudden. But, as long as this guy's involved in any way shape or form bodes well for the Warriors. He's not back-to-back MVP for no reason.
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Turnovers. I find it funny since Steve Kerr came back to coach, the Warriors started to turn the ball over frequently. Luckily enough, the 3-ball game was working for them to overshadow this negative.
Draymond Green, 8 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists. Don't get me wrong, this is a solid stat line for Green. But, I thought Draymond was too conservative, putting all his focus on getting players involved. He took the first shot in the first possession in the game and he was quiet from there on out. Not to mention, he found himself again in early foul trouble.
Conclusion
For the Cavs, it's a lot different coming back from a 3-0 deficit than coming back from 3-1. If they were a hockey team, it's possible. But like I said, this has got to be a soul crushing defeat for the Cavs. They spend all their energy on this one game and they came up short. As much as people would like to say this series is far from over because of last year, this series is done. For the Warriors, finishing the postseason 16-0 is perfect compensation for them after failing to win a title last year when they won 73 games in the regular season. No question, they want to continue to put their foot on the gas. I'll see you guys for Game 4 on Friday.
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