Cavaliers smack Warriors 137-116 to stay alive in Finals
BY STONE LEXINGTON
CAVALIERS BEAT WRITER
In a circumstance few thought would, or could, occur, the 2017 NBA Finals will head to a Game 5.
In convincing fashion Friday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors 137-116 in Quicken Loans Arena to extend a series that stood 3-0 in favor of the team from the Bay Area. Speaking of the Bay Area, that’s where the Cavs will head to once again attempt to keep their season alive.
“Game 3 was obviously a tough pill to swallow, but we felt like we played pretty good and we were only a few plays away from winning that game,” Kevin Love said. “But tonight, we felt we pushed the pace, and I think we scored 49 in that first quarter and had a great first half. So that set the tone for the rest of the game, and we’re hoping that that carries over for Game 5.”
To even reach Game 5, the Cavs needed another super-human effort from LeBron James, who had already averaged a triple-double through the first three games of the series. Friday night, James recorded his second triple-double of the series, totaling 31 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. The triple-double was also James’ ninth in the NBA Finals of his career, passing Magic Johnson (8) for the most in Finals history. James also passed Michael Jordan to move into third place all-time in Finals scoring.
It wasn’t just James who contributed to the Cavs’ high point total; the offensive explosion was largely a team effort. The Cavs made an NBA Finals record 24 three-pointers, helping to deny Golden State of a sweep and handing the Warriors their first loss of the 2017 postseason.
Kyrie Irving led all scorers with 40 points (15-of-27), seven rebounds and four assists, while the third member of Cleveland’s Big Three, Love, finished with 23 points and five rebounds. The 94 points were the most the Big Three has scored in a postseason game.
“The magnitude of the games, especially last game, hit me in a very deep place,” Irving said. “You want to play extremely well, you understand that it’s a do-or-die game in Game 3. You hear some chatter going on throughout the Warriors’ locker room, them trying to end it here.
“It was another do-or-die game for us and we had to leave it all out there.”
The Cavs led the entire game, mostly by double-digits. Less than three minutes into the contest, Cleveland held a 14-5 lead, their largest at any point in this year’s Finals. The first quarter onslaught never stopped, as Cleveland led 49-33 when the quarter ended. The Cavs led by as many as 17 points in the opening quarter and the 49 points scored in the first was an NBA Finals record.
Cleveland amassed a staggering 86 points at halftime to the Warriors’ 68, and the highlights kept coming in the second half. When James threw an alley-oop to himself off the backboard with 9:03 to play in the third quarter, the Cavs took a 96-75 lead and The Q erupted.
Wackiness also entered the proceedings late in the third quarter after a scrum for a loose ball. During the altercation, Golden State center Zaza Pachulia appeared to throw a punch to Iman Shumpert’s groin, while a fan was also ejected from courtside. Immediately after the lengthy delay to review the play, Cavs point guard Deron Williams drained the Cavs’ 19th three-pointer, breaking the old Finals record, to give Cleveland a 112-93 lead. The Cavs led 115-96 heading into the fourth quarter and never looked back.
“We shoot the ball well, these are the types of explosions we can have offensively,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said. “So we got to make shots, and we understand that, but our fans were great tonight. Being down 3-0 and coming into this building, they gave us a lot of energy, a lot of juice and gave us a lot of fight.
So BelieveLand is not going to give u and we’re going to keep fighting. We’re going to keep scrapping.”
One could say the Cavs had no choice to explode offensively, as the team face getting swept in their own house. Their 137 points scored is the most a team has scored in the NBA Finals when facing elimination and the third-most in Finals history. Cleveland also became the first team to be down 3-0 and avoid getting swept in the NBA Finals since the 1996 Seattle Supersonics.
The loss was the Warriors’ first since April 10 of this season, and the Cavs now find themselves in a familiar position. Cleveland trailed 3-1 in last year’s Finals heading back to Oakland, but this year’s task is drastically taller than a season ago. If the Cavs can somehow win Game 5 in a place the Warriors lost just five times all season, matters will become very interesting.
“Well, we got to come back home, so we might as well come back with a win,” Lue said. “That’s our mentality. We know it’s a tough environment to play in.”
POSTED 06/10/2017 01:36
Lake County Sentinel
