Warriors stun Cavaliers 118-113 in final moments, take 3-0 lead

In an absolutely crushing defeat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, after leading for much of the second half, fell apart in the closing seconds of Game 3 of the NBA finals and lost to the Golden State Warriors, 118-113. Golden State, which finished the game with an 11-0 run, now has a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

With the win, the Warriors extended their postseason record to 15 consecutive games, and Game 4 on Friday offers a chance for them to become the first team to complete a postseason undefeated. Needless to say, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the N.B.A. finals. But if there is a glimmer of hope for the stunned Cavaliers, no team had ever come back from a 3-1 deficit until last year — when Cleveland did that against Golden State.

LeBron James was magnificent with 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Kyrie Irving added 38 points and three assists, and J.R. Smith recovered from his awful start to the Finals to score 16. Kevin Love finished with nine points, 13 rebounds and six steals.

Blown out in the first two games, the Cavaliers were much better in Game 3, but just not good enough to beat a team that could go down as one of the best ever.

Cleveland played with a sense of urgency early. J.R. Smith, scoreless in Game 2, knocked down a pair of first-quarter threes while LeBron James continued a string of strong opening quarters, scoring 16 points.

After committing 20 turnovers in Game 2, the Warriors continued to be sloppy, turning the ball over six times in the first quarter. That sloppiness was countered by a blistering 3-point assault. Golden State knocked down a record nine threes in the first quarter, finishing with a 39-32 lead.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr has coached this team to the brink of two titles in three years, and his message to the locker room at halftime consisted of continuing to pressure James and Irving. Sooner than later, Kerr told his players, fatigue will take place.“We just kept telling the guys, they’re going to get tired,” Kerr said.

The third quarter had been where the Cavs went to die in this series -- getting outscored by 24 in the first two games. This time, Irving scored 16 and Cleveland turned the entire game around -- for a while.

But the Cavs were zapped of energy when they needed it most, failing to score over the game's final 3:08 and blowing a six-point lead. The Warriors closed the game on an 11-0 run.

Durant nailed a short jumper with 1:15 to go and a 3-ball with 45.3 remaining to give the Warriors a 114-113 advantage. The Cavs -- again, out of gas -- flailed with shot attempt after shot attempt.

Love missed a layup. James, a turnaround jumper. Irving, a step-back 3, like the one he made to beat the Warriors in Game 7 last year. Kyle Korver, an open 3 in the corner. Eight shots in all.

A pair of Durant free throws extended the lead to three, and a strip steal by Andre Iguodala on James sealed the win for Golden State.

It was Cleveland’s best effort of the three games, and it still didn’t yield a victory. The Cavs' 27.3% shooting on three-pointers didn't help their cause.

“I gave everything that I had to this game, so I don't look at it saying I wish I could have did this or I would have did that," James said. "I left it out on the floor.”

"I gave everything I had tonight," James said. "So win, lose, or draw, you live with the results. Like I said, they played a really good game as well, but they made shots, they made shot down the stretch."

"Even when you're playing well, you got to play like A plus plus, because they're going to make runs and they're going to make shots and they got guys that's going to make plays," James said. "So we made enough plays tonight to still win the ball game, but they made a couple more."

Durant scored 31 points and Klay Thompson had 30 for the Warriors, who improved to 15-0 in the postseason and are on the brink of the first undefeated finish in the NBA. Stephen Curry had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.

Durant is averaging 34 points (56.1% shooting overall; 52.4% from three-point range), 10 rebounds, six assists and just two turnovers per game.

“They’re a juggernaut of a team,” Cavs All-Star guard Kyrie Irving said.

“They made some big-time plays,” Irving said. “K.D. comes down, hits a big three, puts them up one, iso on the wing. I’ll probably be replaying that play for a while.”

“It’s probably the most … most firepower I’ve played [against] in my career,” James said. “I played against some great teams, but I don’t think no team has had this type of firepower."

“It definitely hurts,” Irving said. “I’m human, as well as my teammates, and to lay it all on the line like that, you want to come out on the winning side. But we gave a great effort, and the result just didn’t turn out the way we wanted to.”

“I’m drained right now, both mentally and physically,” James said.

It has come back full circle: The Warriors didn't score in the final 4:39 of last year's Finals Game 7. On Wednesday, the Cavaliers failed to score in the last 3:09.

Now at 87-15, the Warriors have the potential to finish with the second-best single-season winning percentage in NBA history, including regular season and playoffs. The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls went 87-13, which the Warriors cannot mathematically beat this year. The current No. 2 is the Los Angeles Lakers, who sent 81-16 in 1971-72.

COMING UP FOR THE CAVS: The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to regroup after this crushing defeat when the Cavs (0-3) host the Warriors (3-0) for Game 4 on Friday. Tip at 9:00 pm. Warriors will try to make the record books by having the first undefeated finish in NBA history, and win their second title in three seasons.