Cavaliers Back In NBA Finals With 120-90 Home Win Over Warriors In Game 3

The Cleveland Cavaliers used their home court advantage to defeat the Golden State Warriors 120-90 at Quicken Loans Arena in Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night.

Cavaliers Back In NBA Finals With 120-90 Home Win Over Warriors In Game 3

Cleveland now trails the series 2-1. LeBron James called Game 3 a must-win and made a subtle guarantee when he stated he didn’t think the Cavs would trail the Finals 3-0.

“Since we landed the other day, it was pretty much like a clean slate,” said Cleveland guard J.R. Smith, who finished with 20 points. “Get back in the gym. Get back to our routines. Drive the same route I go to the gym every day, and just get back on our home floor and play the right way.”

James led the Cavs with a game-high 32 points after a sloppy, inefficient first half. He also added 11 rebounds and six assists. Kyrie Irving scored 30 points, 16 of which came in the first quarter.

Following two losses at Oakland, Coach Tyronn Lue said the Cavs have not been aggressive enough. They were, however, on Wednesday, both offensively (48% from the field) and defensively (held the Warriors to 42% shooting, including 27.3% on three-pointers).

“I just think it’s two words, physicality and aggressiveness,” said Lue after the game. “I thought we were very physical defensively, and I thought we were aggressive offensively, attacking the basket, getting out in transition, running the floor.”

Cavs center Tristan Thompson also had a great game. He outplayed the Warriors all night and was relentless on the glass, recording seven offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Thompson finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

“He’s the heart and soul of our team,” Lue said of the 25-year-old Canadian.

James hit his first four shots, then missed 9-of-10, before dominating in the third quarter, going 5-for-6, including a vicious alley-oop dunk. With just under three minutes left in the third and Cleveland leading 77-59, James forced Stephen Curry to turn over the ball and stumbled down the court while barely holding onto the ball. After nearly falling over and turning the ball over himself, James kept the ball bouncing, got up and sent a short pass to Irving. Irving quickly tossed it back to James with a high pass, and James flew to sink the ball one-handed and extend the Cavs’ lead to 20.

Aside from a short burst in the third, Curry was awful, finishing 3-for-9 from three for 19 points. He only had two points in the first half, as well as three turnovers and three fouls. Klay Thompson missed 6-of-7 outside looks and scored just 10 points, while Draymond Green had only six points on 2-for-8 shooting.

“We weren’t ready to play,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “We were extremely soft to start the game, and they set the tone with their intensity.”

Forward Kevin Love sat out for the Cavs following a concussion, although he is expected to return for Game 4 in Cleveland on Friday. Lue started Richard Jefferson in place of Love.

“Just like his physicality, able to catch the ball, straight-line drive, moves well without the basketball when we get stagnant,” said Lue of Jefferson. “Just going off his last game, I thought he really played well, and that’s who we decided to go with.”

PHOTO: CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 08: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots the ball during the second half against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 8, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio.