The Golden State Warriors will head to Cleveland for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The first two games went into overtime and gave the fans everything they’ve asked for. Stephen Curry has looked off the mark in the previous game but look for him to change that. Without Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, the Warriors will need to get out early, run at their pace, and take back home court advantage. Stopping LeBron is unlikely but it will have to be done if the Warriors want to bring a title home to the Bay Area.
1st Quarter
LeBron scored the first bucket of the game and the arena was going wild. After a few empty possessions, Steph Curry got the Warriors on the board with triple. The Cavs were aggressive on both ends and had a three point lead early on. The Cavs were driving to the hole with ease and the Warriors were settling for jumpers and the Cavs increased their lead to seven. Draymond Green ended the drought by driving to the basket, hitting the layup and drawing the foul. That cut the lead to four, but the Cavs kept scoring at will in the paint. The Warriors finally went on a little run, but it was the reserves that gave them that spark. Festus Ezeli played well early on, along with Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. They were able to get the lead down to two, but James Jones converted a four point play. The scoring stalled on both ends, but the Cavs stayed in control. The Warriors were down four going into the second.
Ezeli with the nasty block on Dellavedova. https://t.co/lSZ7tfV5wc @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) June 10, 2015
2nd Quarter
The second unit looked much better to start the quarter. Livingston hit a jumper and Festus was battling inside. The Warriors tied the game and their offense was flowing smoothly. The Cavs came back with a LeBron drive to the basket and J.R. Smith hit a three to put the Cavs up by five again. Klay came back with a bucket, but LeBron then turned it up another notch. Green finally hit a triple and was able to cut the lead to three. Iman Shumpert returned to the game after a shoulder injury and knocked down the three. David Lee checked into the game for the first time and quickly got a bucket. The Warriors didn’t look like themselves. LeBron and the Cavs were dictating the tempo. Iguodala was the only Warrior who was playing with energy and his scoring down the stretch kept the Warriors within striking distance.
Iggy out here playing his heart out. https://t.co/BGBblkmaiD @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) June 10, 2015
3rd Quarter
The Warriors got two quick baskets from Andrew Bogut to start the second half, but the Cavs scored as well, including a Dellavedova triple. Delly hit another floater to put the Cavs up by 10. Klay came right back to posterize Mozgov and the Warriors were hoping that would give them a spark. LeBron was feeling it and he came back with a quick bucket. Klay hit a three in response, but the Warriors than gave up three point shots to Dellavedova and LeBron. Cavs were up 11 and it went up to 13 after yet another bucket from the King. Kerr took a timeout and Cleveland came out ferociously. They were were beating the Warriors in every facet of the game and a 10-0 run got the lead up to 20. This was getting out of hand fast and the Quicken Loans Arena was in a frenzy. Curry then started getting involved, but the Cavs still had the big lead going into the fourth.
Klay just put Mozgov on a poster. https://t.co/PFPGgn80ax @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) June 10, 2015
4th Quarter
The Warriors had no life after three quarters, then the fourth period began and they went on a 8-0 run. Iguodala kept being the constant producer for the Warriors and hit a corner three to make it a nine point lead. Cavs called a timeout and got a Mozgov bucket after they came out of the huddle. David Lee got a bucket and the foul, plus a Barbosa bucket made the league six and the Warriors were indeed alive. The addition of Lee was the difference. His scoring ability in the paint opened up the offense for the Warriors. Curry started to make shots and the Warriors were inching closer, but the Cavs kept making enough buckets to keep them from taking the lead. Curry hit a three to cut it to one, but Dellavedova hit a crazy shot and the free throw as well. That moment was huge, the Warriors could have taken the lead, but now the deficit was four. LeBron then hit a couple more buckets to essentially seal the game. The Warriors showed heart and Curry started to hit his shot again.
Curry! https://t.co/Y13VxYeCks @warriorsworld
— Alex Torres (@alextorresww) June 10, 2015