Follow Lebron James’ lead and do your job!
That’s how James and the rest of Cleveland Cavaliers snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Golden State Warriors by a score of 120-90 on Wednesday at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs entered Game 3 of the NBA Finals on the heels of a 33-point loss to the Warriors on Sunday, facing a 0-2 deficit, and without the third member of the team’s Big Three, Kevin Love. Still, the Cavs pulled their season from the brink of disaster after getting a 105-point performance.
So here’s what we’ve learned from this game. The Cavs are better defensively without Love, who was ruled out several hours before the game due to concussion and was replaced by Richard Jefferson. And they can win only if both Kyrie Irving and J. R Smith can score.
James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, dominating on both ends of the floor. He now passed Kobe Bryant on all-time Finals scoring list, sitting in 10th place with 945 career Finals points.
Irving had been responsible for the fast start the Cavs needed, scoring 30 points and 8 assists. Center Tristan Thompson finished double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds while J.R. Smith chipped in 20 points. The Cavaliers remained unbeaten at home during the playoffs.
The Dubs’ Splash Brothers went scoreless in the first quarter but Steph Curry still managed to lead the team with 19 points and 3 assists plus Klay Thompson adding 10 points. Harrison Barnes and Andre Iguodala scored 18 and 11 points respectively while Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green contributed 10 points combined.
Game 4 is now a must-win for the Golden State, otherwise the second straight championship that looked certain a few days might be much harder to get. The next game is set to go down in Cleveland on Friday with the Cavs as the favorites to win at 1-point over Golden State at 1+ point.
