Strong effort didn’t save Cavaliers in Game 3

No matter how the 2018 NBA Finals ends, this Cavaliers team should be remembered as one that gave each other, their coaches and their fans everything they had in Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena in a game the Cavs had to win to have a realistic chance of grabbing another championship.

J.R. Smith and Rodney Hood, two unlikely co-stars to go with LeBron James, combined for 28 points in Game 3 at Quicken Loans Arena on June 6. But they did much more than that. They were in the ear of Golden State star Steph Curry from the start, playing superb defense to keep him off-balance.

Curry scored 33 points and was nine of 17 on 3-point shots when the Warriors drilled the Cavaliers, 122-103 in Game 2. He scored only 11 points in Game 3 and was 1-of-10 from behind the 3-point line, but his one 3-pointer late in the game was a crusher.

For the most part, every time Curry tried to move, Smith or Hood was in his face.

Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue put the game plan out there after practice June 5 for all to see. He wanted his team to get off to a quick start and he wanted the Cavaliers to be physical, especially with Curry and Warriors guard Klay Thompson. He wanted Smith to get involved early, because the way to get the most out of Smith is to make him a part of the offense as soon as possible. He promised Hood — The Forgotten Man — would play more than a token role in game 3.

All that happened, just as Lue drew it up, and it still wasn’t enough. Kevin Durant scored 43 points to crush the Cavaliers’ hearts. The Warriors won, 110-102, and now lead the series 3-0. There isn’t much more the Cavs can do.

The Cavaliers led, 14-4, with just over four minutes gone in the first quarter. The quick start was highlighted by LeBron James passing the ball to himself off the backboard and finishing the play with a ferocious slam for a 12-4 lead.

The start was a turnaround from what happened in Game 2 at Oracle Arena when Golden State jumped to a 15-6 lead. The Cavaliers never recovered,

never tied and never led.

There was another difference in Game 3, too — an even more significant one than the quick start. Unlike the Cavaliers, the Warriors did recover. They made the Cavs’ lead vanish and tied the score, 26-26 on a jumper by Kevin Durant with 32 seconds left

in the first quarter.

The real test for the Cavaliers would be how they responded to the Warriors run. Could they regain the momentum?

A 58-52 Cavaliers halftime lead vanished when Steph Curry made two free throws with 9:57 left in the third

quarter to put the Warriors ahead, 63-61, for their first lead of the night. The lead expanded to 69-64 before Lue called a timeout with 7:44 left in the period.

The Cavs stopped the bleeding but only temporarily.

Jeff Schudel