Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) reaches out to teammate LeBron James (23), who lay on the court after contact with the Golden State Warriors during the first half of Game 3 of basketball’s NBA Finals in Cleveland, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Sacramento, California—To employ a boxing analogy ahead of my fellow Inquirer sports columnist Recah Trinidad, the Cleveland Cavaliers connected with a flurry of punches, but the Golden State Warriors weathered them to take an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the 2017 NBA Finals last night.
Now the defending champions are stuck in a dark, deep hole after the unstoppable Warriors, again led by their dynamic duo of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, carved out a come from behind 118-113 victory before a stunned crowd at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.
No team in any round of the NBA playoffs has ever clambered back from a 0-3 deficit.
Meanwhile, Golden State is on the cusp of history.
With an unblemished slate of 15-0 in the playoffs, the Warriors can become the first team to sweep all four rounds and end up with a spotless playoff record.
Denied their second NBA title in a row with a seventh game loss to Cleveland last season, the Warriors can avenge Saturday, Philippine time and complete another sweep.
And everyone from the smartest basketball analyst to the average Joe Sixpack, is fondly remembering the late, great basketball announcer Chick Hearn to make the easiest of calls ahead of Game 4.
Paraphrasing Hearns, everybody seems to agree that the Cavaliers have two chances—slim and none. And slim has just left the building.
The Warriors are making bettors who were all over them happy and rich.
They surpassed the total score of 220 over and covered their 4 ½ point spread by beating the Cavs by 5 points.
Among the happy campers was Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy, who bet $200,000 on the Warriors to win the Finals. His bet was the largest Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas received.
If Golden State wins, McCoy and his five-year $40 million deal with the Bills stand to gain a $62,500 profit.
Watch parties and wagering, friendly or otherwise are part and parcel of the NBA Finals watched by millions of fans worldwide.
Over in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a wagering party of two was formed by Filipino journalists streaming the games in the wee hours.
Arab News sports editor Chito Manuel and online editor Romy Tangbawan have made watching more interesting with a friendly wager.
Manuel said via Facebook he put his money on the Cavaliers and will likely buy Tangbawan lunch at Wajba, a restaurant catering to Filipino oversees workers.
Diehard basketball fans are aplenty among Jeddah’s 250,000-strong Pinoy community of mostly health care professionals.