The first half was close throughout, with the Cavaliers leading 24-20 after the first quarter. They led 44-37 at halftime. Stephen Curry had a bigtime struggle from Game 2, a performance which carried over to the first half of Game Three. Curry was held to 3 points in the first half. For a guy of his talent, the reigning league MVP is playing well below par, at least for the high standard he set for himself.
By the time the game moved into the third quarter, the Cavaliers seized control. Cleveland outscored Golden State 28-18 in that 3rd period. They led by as many as 20 in the third quarter before taking a 72-55 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The 55 points scored by the Warriors was their lowest scoring output through three quarters all season. However, the Warriors fought back, making it a 1 point game as they cut the deficit to 81-80 late in the fourth quarter. Curry scored 17 of the Warriors' 36 4th quarter points. However, Dellavedova made a basket while being fouled. He made the free throw to put the Cavaliers up 84-80. After Curry committed a turnover, James hit a three pointer to give the Cavs an 87-80 lead.
Curry hit a handful of three pointers down the stretch, but the Cavs made their free throws and closed out the win. James led all scorers with 40 to go along with 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Through 3 games, James scored 123 points, the most points scroed by any player in the first three games of any Finals series. Dellavedova scored 20, a playoff career high. Curry led the Warriors with 27. It was the first time that the Cavaliers held a lead in a Finals series in their franchise history.
A few things to take note of from this 3rd game of the finals. First and foremost is the DOMINATION by Lebron James. Through three games, James has played 142 of 154 possible minutes, scored 123 points and taken 107 shots. If that's not a dominating performance, than I don't know what is. The King is literally carrying the offense on his back right now, taking this team to a place it has never been before. The big question I still have, and I think I'm wrong with this, is can the King keep going? I say I'm not sure. But based on what I've seen from the start of the series, Lebron is putting himself in some elite company for everything he has been able to do in this series.
The other major note has been Stephen Curry. Sure the league MVP was able to drop 17 points in the final quarter of the basketball game to get the Warriors back in it, but it was too little too late. A lot of credit has to go to Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova has stepped up bigtime in this series, hitting big shots (dropping 20 points on the Warriors) and pretty much making life miserable for Stephen Curry. He has played an outstanding brand of basketball. While Lebron has been carrying the bulk of the load for the Cavs, Dellavedova has been there playing a great supporting role.
One final note was the play of Stephen Curry. He didn't start off great, but came on in a very strong finish in the 4th quarter. What I want to know is which Stephen Curry are we going to get in game four? Is it going to be the one who showed up in Game Two and most of Game Three? Or is it going to be the guy who showed up in the 4th quarter of Game Four? Only time will tell!
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