NBA Finals: Wild Cavs' 3rd-quarter run ends with Curry missing buzzer-beater (VIDEOS)
The Golden State Warriors can never be counted out of any game.
They're too good, they're too potent, and their season has been littered with incredible comebacks. Even in Game 2, they cut a double-digit lead to nothing in the final three-plus minutes of action to force overtime.
But things look bleak in Ohio for Game 3. The Cleveland Cavaliers are firing on all cylinders at both ends of the floor, and the Warriors look rattled. This is a team that's not well-studied in adversity, and the biggest scare of their season was a 2-1 series deficit. This seems more substantial - the Warriors haven't adjusted to Cleveland's game plan through 2 3/4 games, and they appear at a loss for answers.
The third quarter of Tuesday's game put all of this on display. Cleveland won the quarter 28-18 to take a 72-55 lead into the fourth, a stretch that included a 12-0 run punctuated by a Timofey Mozgov jam.
This, just moments after Matthew Dellavedova hit the type of ridiculous shot that Dellavedova is now apparently making his trademark.
Dellavedova just wants it more than everyone else.
That's not to say the Cavs' role players are doing everything. LeBron James had a big hand in the dominant quarter, too.
If all that weren't enough, the Warriors seemed set to cut the lead back down to 15 - a modicum of relief after once trailing by 20 - as the quarter ended. But Steph Curry, now 4-of-11 on the night and 19-of-54 in the series, couldn't get the buzzer-beating layup off in time.
Again, the league's No. 2 offense and No. 1 defense can't be counted out regardless of the score - but they're very much on the brink in Game 3.
LBJ (13) & Delly (10) combine for 23 of @cavs 28pts in 3rdQ (outscoring GSW's 18). Here's the duo's 3rdQ shot chart pic.twitter.com/AA1fKHaET5
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 10, 2015
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