LeBron James scored 32 points, Kyrie Irving added 30 and the Cleveland Cavaliers, pushed for 48 minutes by a delirious, championship-starved crowd, hammered the Golden State Warriors 120-90 in Game 3 on Wednesday night to pull within 2-1 in the NBA Finals.
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After the Warriors scored a technical knockout with a 108-97 decision that gives them a 3-1 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers, James spared no words in expressing disgust for Green.
Hardly himself through the first three games of the NBA Finals, Curry silenced his critics by pushing the Golden State Warriors within one win of making more history in this season of seasons. The Thunder led the Warriors 3-1 before the defending champs rallied and won three straight games. In Golden State’s first two home games in the Finals, they beat Cleveland by scores of 104-89 and 110-77.
Thompson added 25 points, and the Warriors sank 17 3-pointers overall. Their arrival was a welcomed relief for the Warriors, who had managed to bury the Cavs in the first two games despite minimal production from their two stars.
Both players delivered as the Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 108-97, to put themselves on the cusp of another championship. The Cavaliers slowed down Curry and Thompson for stretches, but all it takes is a moment for the defense to crack and a second for a defender to be a step slow, and suddenly either the league’s best or second-best shooter is stepping into a makeable shot.
Draymond Green’s suspension is a gift. “They might not like it at the time, but I’ve always learned in this business if you tell the truth, guys understand and they know what the truth is”, Lue said.
“He had 46 that night”, Kerr said. The Cavs season is now hanging by a thread as they head to Oakland for the game five. “You’ve got to have the appropriate fear”. That was particularly true for Curry, the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP, who entered Game 4 averaging a paltry 16 points and 4.3 assists, numbers that got him roundly criticized. And because of other infractions in this postseason, Green will be suspended for at least one game if he picks up another flagrant. James believes the National Basketball Association will take a look at the play.
The Warriors initially made their move in the third quarter, draining six triples in a gorgeous display of transition shooting.
Since the Cleveland Browns won their last football title in 1964 – the championship game wasn’t even known as the Super Bowl then – Cleveland has experienced 147 NBA, NFL, MLB and National Hockey League opening days with title dreams that ultimately were dashed.
Earlier, he took part in the team’s morning shootaround, a sign he had made progress from his concussion.
Stephen Curry’s Warriors win in Cleveland. When Harrison Barnes buried a 3-pointer, the lead was nine. Their nine turnovers matched their playoff low. Golden State outscored Cleveland by three points in the seven minutes that James Michael McAdoo played.
Love had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench, J.R. Smith scored 10 points and Tristan Thompson finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
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With the Splash Brothers shooting the way they did in this game, though – going a combined 11-for-22 from three-point range – it didn’t matter. Irving played with a wrap on his right thumb after hurting it in the first quarter.
