The Warriors fell behind early and never recovered, losing 120-90 to the Cavaliers in Game 3 on Wednesday night.
The Warriors fell behind early and never recovered, losing 120-90 to the Cavaliers in Game 3 on Wednesday night. Stephen Curry led Golden State with 19 points, while Harrison Barnes wasn’t far behind with 18 of his own, but it wasn’t nearly enough to overcome a desperate Cleveland squad firing on all cylinders. With the defeat, the Warriors now lead the series two games to one. They’ll look to get back on track in Game 4 on Friday.
GAME LEADERS
The Warriors are hoping history repeats itself when this series is all said and done, but when it comes to Game 3’s, it already has. Golden State lost its fourth Game 3 of the 2016 postseason on Wednesday, and this time, they trailed the entire duration of the contest.
Cleveland, in dire need of a victory to regain a foothold in the series, came bursting out of the gates, opening the game on a 9-0 run. Kyrie Irving, who had struggled in the first two games, opened that burst with a jumper, on his way to 16 points in the first quarter. LeBron James made all four of his shot attempts in the opening frame, and the Warriors were behind the eight ball from the get-go.
Golden State rebounded in the second quarter, and their defense played a key part. The Dubs held Irving and James to a combined 2-of-17 shooting from the field in the second frame, allowing them to slowly creep their way back into the game. Klay Thompson, who briefly left the game after taking a knee to his upper leg, returned to score 10 points in the remainder of the quarter, helping Golden State pull within 51-43 heading into halftime.
The Warriors’ resurgence was denied in the second half, however, as the third quarter carried a very similar theme to the first. A combination of poor shooting and careless turnovers doomed Golden State from the start, as Cleveland opened the second half on a 13-3 run, and never looked back.
Stephen Curry, who had totaled just two points in the first half, started to get rolling in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to climb out of an extreme deficit. His second three-pointer pulled the Warriors within 15 points with just under four minutes remaining in the third quarter, but that’s as close as Golden State would get for the rest of the game.
With the defeat, Golden State’s series lead is shrunk in half. Now leading 2-1, the Warriors will look to get back on the right track in Game 4 on Friday.