GAME Four of the 2015 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers will be held on Friday, June 12 (9:00 a.m. Manila time), at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Down 1-2 in the best-of-seven Finals, the Warriors find themselves in a must-win situation, knowing fully well that no team in NBA history has ever rallied from a 3-1 deficit to secure the Larry O’Brien championship hardware.
The Game Three winner of a tied Finals has gone on to capture the crown 83.8 percent (31-6) of the time. Before a friendly crowd at the QLA, Cleveland played tough defense throughout but still needed to buck a huge endgame rally by Golden State to secure a 96-91 decision in Game Three for a 2-1 series lead.
The Cavs had wrested homecourt advantage in Game Two with a 95-93 overtime success at the Oracle Arena to deadlock the series at 1-1.Cavs franchise cornerstone LeBron James did not exactly have an efficient shooting from the field for a third consecutive game, going just 14-of-34, but he still got 40 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks in 46 minutes.
Pesky and physical Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova, who has started in injured Kyrie Irving’s place since Game Two, backed up James with an NBA playoff career-high 20 points (on 7-of-17 FGA), five rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes and was the Wine City club’s top plus-minus player at plus 13.
Still, it was Dellavedova’s suffocating defense of the Warriors’ Stephen Curry for a second straight game that again was the X-factor in the Cavs’ back-to-back victories.
Power forward Tristan Thompson, who gained a starting spot following the injury loss of Kevin Love in the first-round Boston series, registered a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Thompson is averaging 14 boards in the Finals.
Curry, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, struggled in the first half before finishing with 27 points (24 in the second half), six rebounds, six assists and three steals in 44 minutes.
He scored 17 of his 24 second-half points in the fourth quarter and finished with a 10-for-20 field clip, including 7-for-13 from beyond the arc. For a second straight time, Curry committed a game-high six turnovers, including three in the closing minutes.
Curry’s backcourt partner, Klay Thompson, was only 6-for-16 from the field and produced only 14 scores, one less than substitute guard Andre Iguodala.
Cleveland got off to a strong start, enjoying a 44-37 lead at halftime as LeBron collected 13 points (on a frigid 6-for-17 field shooting) and nine rebounds. Hounded mercilessly by the undrafted Dellavedova, Golden State’s Curry, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, struggled early and was held to three markers (a triple) at the half on 1-for-6 shooting.
The Cavs, who employed only eight men, stormed to a 20-point lead (66-46) – the biggest in the series – with 2:52 left in the third period. It was 72-55 after the third quarter.
Sparked by Curry and seldom-utilized but former All-Star frontliner David Lee, who logged 11 points (4-for-4 FGA) in 13 second-half minutes and had a team-best plus 17 rating while on the floor, Golden State came within one, 81-80, with three minutes left. However, Dellavedova banked a fielder plus a free throw off a Curry foul as Cleveland went up, 84-80, with 2:17 remaining.
A three-pointer by James and a free throw by Tristan Thompson pushed Cleveland’s lead to eight, 88-80, with 1:31 left. Golden State came within three, 94-91, on a Curry trifecta with 18.8 ticks left.
But LeBron closed out the scoring with a pair of freebies with 16.8 seconds remaining. The Warriors dug themselves too big a hole, trailing by 17 points entering the fourth quarter.
In NBA Finals history, the largest deficit to be overhauled to win a game was 15 – which Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls accomplished in a 97-93 home win over the Portland Trail Blazers in the series-clinching Game Six of the 1992 Finals on June 14, 1992. The Bulls were behind, 79-64, after three quarters.
Cleveland’s Game Three triumph means that Golden State will have to win twice (fourth and sixth games) on the Cavs’ home floor to secure its first NBA title since 1975.
Game Five will be hosted by the Warriors on June 15 (Manila time, 8:00 a.m.).
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