LeBron went to the rack with reckless abandon and finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds, the type of numbers he will need for Cleveland to convince us it’s better than the Warriors over a seven-game series. With the Cavs in the NBA Finals, Hill said he dreams of seeing a championship in person. After watching Cleveland get stomped and embarrassed for two straight games, why wouldn’t the team keep going with what worked in the lone win?
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But according to Cavaliers coach Ty Lue, the determination on whether or not Love will be available to Game 4 can’t be made until Friday afternoon.
“He was very upset but LeBron and Kyrie and those guys told him, ‘We’re going to win this game for you, so get yourself healthy, ‘” Lue said.
Never before in NBA Finals history had a team won by 30 or more only to lose the next game by 30 or more, but that’s what the Warriors did.
“It’s the same mindset”, James told reporters on Thursday referring to Game 3 in which they outplayed the defending champions. “And you have to be able to have a short mind but also learn from the mistakes that you made the previous game and just try to better yourself in the following game”.
“In terms of working out late nights and doing whatever it takes to win, learning how to lead, understanding the nuances of the game and what it takes to be a great player, he has really put down the foundation”. Teammates have credited Love both for buying into the team concept since his arrival and for his cerebral approach to the game, even as he has emerged as a public scapegoat for Cleveland’s woes. The Cavs set the tone by the end of the first quarter with an early 33-16 lead.
“I think (the difference) was just the level of intensity that they brought”, Kerr said.
Star point guard Kyrie Irving was the second-leading scorer on the night with 30 points, 18 of them coming in the first half when the Cavaliers took a 51-43 lead. There, James neutralized Draymond Green and helped frustrate Golden State’s offensive motion.
“For us, we have to just stop that force that they played with in Game 3 and come with more effort and more focus from the jump”, Curry said.
James noted Jefferson’s contributions to the team wouldn’t be reflected in the stats.
The Cavaliers are being physical with Curry, running him off the three-point line and making sure defenders are connected to him.
The Cavs left little doubt into the games outcome in the fourth quarter. Cleveland outscored Golden State by 10 in the final period, 31-21. They’re a tough team.
Before Game Three New York Knicks’ president Phil Jackson, the man who had coached Jordan to six titles, had asked whether the Cavaliers forward could do what Jordan did in the 1993 Eastern Conference finals.
Steph Curry finishes game 3 with 19 points on 3-for-9 shooting from three-point range. The superstar duo of Golden State were clearly off their game, as their combined total of 29 was personally outscored by Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.
“I mean, Coach is right”, Warriors guard Klay Thompson said. “So we definitely want him back, but he has to take the steps necessary to get himself back”.
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Steve Kerr said none of it affects Curry. With that said, I can’t shake the feeling that what we saw from the Cavaliers in Game 3 amounted to a great parting gift for their fan base. We were turning the ball over like insane. Bench guys have known their roles, and will continue to do so.
