Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) dunks against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 8, 2016. AP
It’s officially a series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rallied back on their home court and gave the Golden State Warriors a whipping, 120-90, to take Game 3 of the NBA Finals Thursday (Manila time) at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers trail the seven-game series, 2-1.
LeBron James was in his usual stat-sheet-stuffing night finishing with 32 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal while Kyrie Irving had 30 points and eight assists.
JR Smith added 20 points for the Cavaliers.
Reigning two-time MVP Stephen Curry had a lackluster night with 19 points, on 6-of-13 shooting while Harrison Barnes added 18 points and eight rebounds for the defending champion Warriors.
On their home floor, where they have been dominant all postseason, the Cavs yanked their season from the brink of disaster following back-to-back blowout losses in the Bay Area.
“Coaching staff gave us a great game plan and we executed it for 48 minutes,” said James, whose energy from the start electrified 20,000 fans, and most importantly his teammates.
They Cavs did it without starting forward Kevin Love, with little help from their bench and by keeping Curry penned in.
The Cavs, though, have made this a series after it appeared the Warriors were on the fast track to another crown.
James had called it “do or die” for Cleveland.
Well, done and living.
“We’ve got to give the same effort on Friday,” James said. “It started defensively and it trickled down to the offensive side.”
The Warriors didn’t look anything like the team that won a record 73 games during the regular season or the one that overcame a 3-1 deficit in the Western Conference finals.
“We were soft,” said coach Steve Kerr. “When you’re soft, you get beat on the glass and turn the ball over.”
Irving bounced back from two rough games out West, J.R. Smith made five 3-pointers and Tristan Thompson did the dirty work inside, getting 13 rebounds for the Cavs, who improved to 8-0 at home and can even the series with a win in Game 4 on Friday night.
The Cavs hardly missed Love, still suffering from a concussion sustained in Game 2. He wanted to play, but Love is still in the NBA’s concussion protocol and has not yet been cleared to return by league and team doctors.
Coach Tyronn Lue started veteran Richard Jefferson and moved James into Love’s power forward spot, giving the Cavs a smaller lineup better equipped to run with the Warriors.
The 35-year-old Jefferson gave the Cavs a huge boost in 33 minutes, scoring nine points with eight rebounds.
Leading by eight at halftime, Cleveland took control in the third quarter when James and Irving combined on a play that symbolized the Cavs’ resurrection.
Scrambling on his hands and knees after a loose ball near midcourt, James got to his feet and whipped a pass to Irving on the left side. Irving returned a lob to James, who leaped high and flushed it with his right hand, a basket that seemed to erase all that went wrong for the Cavs in California.
Before taking the floor, James and the Cavs huddled in the hallway outside their locker room and prayed.
James then gave his teammates some instructions.
“Follow my lead from the beginning!” he screamed. “And do your job!”
The Cavs listened, scoring the game’s first nine points and opening a 20-point lead in the first quarter. With their season on the line, this was the response Cleveland had to have, but the Cavs fell back into bad habits in the second quarter, rushing shots and not moving the ball.
The Warriors took advantage, outscoring the Cavs 27-18 to pull within 51-43 at halftime.
Say what?
Kerr was startled when the opening question in his postgame news conference was whether he’s considering changes.
“We just lost one game,” Kerr said. “Change the starting lineup?”