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James stands tall as Cavs drub Warriors
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CRAWLING on the floor after a loose ball, LeBron James gathered himself and quickly got to his feet.
He stood tall, and so did the Cavaliers.
James had 32 points and 11 rebounds and Kyrie Irving added 30 points as Cleveland, pushed for 48 minutes by a delirious, championship-starved crowd, beat the Golden State Warriors 120-90 in Game 3 on Wednesday to pull within 2-1 in the NBA finals.
On their home floor, where they have been dominant all postseason, the Cavs yanked their season back from the brink following back-to-back blowout losses in the Bay Area.
The Cavs did it without starting forward Kevin Love, and by keeping Stephen Curry penned in.
The league’s MVP was mostly MIA, scoring 19 points — two in the first half — on 6-of-13 shooting. Harrison Barnes scored 18 and Klay Thompson 10 for the Warriors, who had won seven straight over Cleveland — the first two finals games by a combined 48 points — and came back to the birthplace of rock and roll looking to party like they did after winning the title in Quicken Loans Arena last year.
The Cavs, though, have made this a competitive series after it appeared the Warriors were on the fast track to another crown. “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 1-3 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.”
Curry didn’t offer any excuses.
“I’ve got to play 100 times better than this,” he said, dismissing any notion he’s slowed by injuries. “I’m fine.”
Irving bounced back from two rough games, JR 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 level the series with a win in Game 4.
The Cavs hardly missed Love, still suffering from a concussion sustained in Game 2. He wanted to play, but is still in the NBA’s concussion protocol and has not yet been cleared to return.
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