Welcome in to the full recap of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals where the Golden State Warriors yet again take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 110-102 win. Kevin Durant breaks the hearts of Cleveland yet again to cap off a stellar 43-point performance.
This was very similar to Game 3 of last year's finals. The Cavs gave the Warriors one heck of a fight, but it wasn't enough as Kevin Durant pulled up from deep to give the Warriors a lead. This year, same results. It was a valiant effort from the Cavs, but Golden State just has too much talent. And the thing is, the Splash Bros had a night off, which I'll get to in a second. But, the luxury of having Kevin Durant bailed the Warriors out and they're one game away from another Larry O'Brien trophy.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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Rodney Hood, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7-11 shooting. I said it last game, the Cavs have to play Hood to at least provide some scoring spark. They got nothing to lose. And tonight, he was solid coming off the bench. The first two games without Hood, the Cavs' bench was non-existent and this game, he sparked the second unit.
Rebounding/Kevin Love, 20 points, 13 rebounds. As I emphasized countless times, the Cavs have this advantage over the Warriors. At the start of the game, the Cavaliers bullied the Warriors on the boards, especially on the 2nd chance opportunities. Kevin Love accounted for a majority of those offensive boards with 5 rebounds. He was aggressive in terms of both scoring and rebounding, knocking down a couple of threes and being physical inside.
LeBron James, 33 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists. Triple-double for LeBron. Regardless, he's gonna be on positive for the Cavs since this team starts and ends with him. James once more provided some really nice balance with the scoring and facilitating. He played some outstanding bully-ball on the break, easily overpowering guys like Livingston and Curry when they're caught on the switch.
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Defensive lapses. Everybody will point to Kevin Durant's 43 points as to why the Cavs lost, but in detail, defensive lapses was the primary reason why they loss. They did a nice job locking down Curry. There's no question about that. But, if you look through the comments section of the open threads, the Warriors were dishing out nice passes to a cutting Jordan Bell or a JaVale McGee or a Draymond Green for an easy dunk/layup. Too many times, the Cavs got caught sleeping on those plays or miscommunicated on where the help should come from. Other times, they got overaggressive on the double-team or gamble at the worst possible. I mean who leaves a 1-13 Steph Curry open for a dagger three before KD's dagger? The defensive effort was decent, but way too much miscommunication.
Golden State Warriors
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Kevin Durant, 43 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 15-23 shooting. Dear Golden State Warriors fans, this why almost everybody in the NBA circle hates you. Curry and Thompson had an off night, but then again, this is the luxury of having one of the more prolific scorers in the NBA right now. One-on-one, the Cavs played the best defense they could play against KD, but he was just too good from deep and from mid range. He also did damage as a facilitator as well. This game was deja vu from last year's Game 3 where Durant pulled up from deep to give the Warriors the lead and the eventual 3-0 lead. He gave Cleveland nightmares once again with the same exact shot, except it was deeper beyond the arc and it allowed Golden State to grind out this game.
JaVale McGee, 10 points, 5-7 shooting. Quality minutes, quality production from McGee once again. McGee being on the floor rather than Looney has done wonders for the Warriors.
Jordan Bell, 10 points, 6 rebounds. The Warriors got some nice, quality production out of Jordan Bell off the bench tonight. He made some timely cuts for the ball to come to him for easy dunks/layups. In fact, he's the 2nd-leading rebounder for this team behind Durant.
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Stephen Curry, 11 points, 3-16 shooting. From nine threes in Game 2 to this dud from Curry. All credit to the Cavs defense though. They played Curry tough from beyond-the-arc. Trapping him, closing him out, you name it. Not to mention, he was in early foul trouble. He pulled it out when it mattered the most though. Overall, still a bad game from Curry and I'm sure he's going to make some adjustments.
Klay Thompson, 10 points, 4-11 shooting. The Splash Bros were a no-show this game and Klay struggled as well. Though, he didn't play half as bad as Curry did tonight.
Conclusion
Well, same narrative as last year. This series is O-V-E-R. There's not much the Cavs can do to get back into this series. They're overmatched in terms of star power and depth. It's just not even a fair fight at this point. But who knows? The Cavs put up 137 points last year in an elimination game, but no Kyrie Irving this time around and LeBron doesn't have much help around him outside of Kevin Love. You can bank on the Splash Bros shaking off this game and coming out firing on all cylinders the next game. They have a knack to bounce back. Kevin Durant is way too OP on the offensive end. Next game could be LeBron's last game in Cleveland as Cavalier with all the speculation as to where he's going to go as a free agent. LeBron might go out guns blazing, but it won't be enough. Regardless, if the Cavs win Game 4, the Warriors wouldn't be mad as they would prefer celebrating a championship on their home floor. We'll see what happens. As for me, there's a high chance I'm gonna miss Game 4. I'm gonna be out and about with a couple of buddies on that Friday, but we'll still catch the game someway. But, I'm still gonna provide my thoughts on after the game regardless if the Warriors sweep or the Cavs extend the series. I'll see you guys later.
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