11:31 p.m.-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS FALL TO GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS IN GAME 3 OF NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND -- The Golden State Warriors did not have much working offensively other than the play of small forward Kevin Durant, but that proved to be enough against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.
Durant scored a game-high 43 points to go along with 13 rebounds, seven assists and one steal over 44 minutes in a 110-102 win over the Cavaliers.
With the win Wednesday night, the Warriors moved to within one victory of sweeping their way to a second consecutive NBA Championship and third title in the last four years.
Durant’s performance overshadowed a triple-double of 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists from small forward LeBron James and a double-double of 20 markers and 13 caroms from power forward Kevin Love.
Additionally, the Cavaliers got 15 and 13-point showings from shooting guards Rodney Hood and JR Smith, respectively, but it was not enough, as late three-pointers from Durant and point guard Stephen Curry, who missed his first nine attempts from long distance before the make, sealed Cleveland’s seventh loss in the last eight postseason outings against the Warriors.
PHOTOS: Cleveland Cavaliers host Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of 2018 NBA Finals
10:55 p.m.-CAVALIERS TRAIL WARRIORS AFTER THIRD QUARTER
CLEVELAND -- On the strength of the play of small forward Kevin Durant, the Golden State Warriors shot their way to a two-point lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 83-81, after the third quarter of play in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Wednesday night.
Durant knocked down four of his seven shots from the field, including two of his three looks from three-point range on the way to 10-point showing to go along with five rebounds and three assists against just one turnover without taking a break in the third quarter.
As a team, the Warriors knocked down 13 of their 22 looks from the field (59.1 percent), including three of their six attempts from three-point range, while the Cavaliers went eight of 19 from the field and two of 10 from long distance in the third quarter.
10:38 p.m.-WARRIORS STORM IN FRONT OF CAVALIERS
CLEVELAND -- After starting the second half by scoring nine of the first 12 points, the Golden State Warriors took their first lead of the game and pushed the advantage over the Cleveland Cavaliers to five points, 69-64, with 7:44 to play in the third quarter of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.
The Warriors took a two-point lead on a pair of free throws from point guard Stephen Curry and extended it to five when center JaVale McGee and small forward Draymond Green converted layup attempts around a jumper from Kevin Durant.
Over the first four-plus minutes of the second half, the Warriors outscored the Cavaliers, 17-6.
10:30 p.m.-WARRIORS COME OUT SWINGING IN SECOND HALF
CLEVELAND -- Down by as many as 12 points on two occasions in the first half, the Golden State Warriors came out strong to start the third quarter of play against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.
The Warriors started the second half on a 9-3 scoring run and drew even with the Cavaliers, 61-61, with 10:13 to play in the third quarter.
A game-tying two-point shot from Warriors center JaVale McGee forced the Cavaliers to burn their second timeout of the game, first of the second half.
McGee scored six of the Warriors’ first nine points in the second half with the other three coming on a 32-foot triple from small forward Kevin Durant.
10:12 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD WARRIORS BY SIX AT THE BREAK
CLEVELAND -- Same script, different quarter.
Despite a last-second three-pointer from small forward Kevin Durant, the Cleveland Cavaliers rode fast starts in each of the first two quarters to a six-point lead, 58-52, over the Golden State Warriors at halftime of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena Wednesday night.
Three of the Cavaliers’ five starters scored in double figures in the first half, led by a double-double from power forward Kevin Love (15 points, 10 rebounds), to go along with 14 points and nine assists from small forward LeBron James.
Shooting guard JR Smith had 10 points with six of those markers coming on long-distance shots.
Over the first 24 minutes of play, Durant led the Warriors with 24 points. He was the only Golden State player with more than seven points in the first half.
9:54 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD BY EIGHT NEAR MIDPOINT OF THIRD QUARTER
CLEVELAND -- Despite an injury scare when small forward LeBron James rolled his right ankle on a contested layup attempt, the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their lead over the Golden State Warriors to eight points near the midway point of the second quarter of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
After a jumper and driving layup from James bookended a three-pointer from the right wing from shooting guard JR Smith, the Cavaliers held a 42-34 lead over the Warriors with 6:40 to play in the second quarter.
James’ driving layup prompted the Warriors to use their third timeout of the first half.
9:46 p.m.-CAVALIERS BUILD UP LEAD IN SECOND QUARTER
CLEVELAND -- After having a 12-point lead whittled down to one following the first quarter, the Cleveland Cavaliers started the second period much the way they did from the outset of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers scored the first six points of the second quarter and staked themselves out to a 35-28 lead with 9:20 to play before halftime.
Small forward LeBron James made a pair of short shots, and shooting guard Rodney Hood hit a 17-foot jumper to give the Cavaliers the seven-point edge. James’ second make of the quarter forced the Warriors into their second timeout of the half.
9:38 p.m.-CAVALIERS LEAD WARRIORS, 29-28, AFTER FIRST QUARTER OF GAME 3
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers started fast and the Golden State Warriors finished strong, but the home team held a one-point lead, 29-28, after the first quarter of Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
After a slow start from the field, the Warriors ended the first quarter with a higher shooting percentage than the Cavaliers (52.6 percent to 48.1 percent), but Cleveland knocked down one more three-pointer, out-hustled Golden State on the glass, 13-7, and assisted on eight of their 13 made baskets.
Shooting guard JR Smith and power forward Kevin Love led the way with seven points each in the first quarter, while small forward LeBron James scored six and handed out five assists over the first 12 minutes of play.
On a perfect four-for-four showing from the field, small forward Kevin Durant led all scorers with 13 points.
9:17 p.m.-CAVALIERS START FAST IN GAME 3 OF NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to feed off of the energy from the home fans, but knew they had to give the crowd something to cheer about early in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena.
And give the Cavaliers did, as they jumped out to a 14-4 lead over the first four minutes of play.
The Cavaliers started with three-point shots from the opposite corners of the floor from power forward Kevin Love and shooting guard JR Smith on their first two possessions of the game. Then, Smith and center Tristan Thompson converted a running jumper and layup, respectively.
Already hot from the early three-pointers, the crowd reached a fever pitch when small forward LeBron James fired a pass off the backboard to himself and threw down a two-handed dunk.
A driving layup from Love gave the Cavaliers a 10-point lead and forced the Warriors into calling a timeout.
7:30 p.m.-CAVALIERS LOOK TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HOME CROWD
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have played far better at home than on the road during the 2018 NBA Playoffs, and they aim to keep that trend going against the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of The Finals tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
With an 8-1 record at “The Q” this postseason, the Cavaliers are looking to take advantage of the home court and get back into the best-of-seven series after losing Games 1 and 2 to the Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland.
“It's tremendously important for us,” shooting guard JR Smith said of playing well at The Q. “We run more, we move the ball a lot better at home. Communication on defense is better, so it's going to be very important.
“We just play well here. We feed off the energy of our crowd. We take pride in defending our home court. I mean, it's just like any other team, really. Everybody pretty much plays pretty well at home if you get this far in the playoffs. You've just got to make sure you come out and take care of business.”
PHOTOS: Cleveland Cavaliers continue to marvel at LeBron James' achievements
Knowing what the crowds have been like in Cleveland throughout the first three rounds of the postseason, the Cavaliers are expecting the majority of the 20,562 fans that pack into Quicken Loans Arena to be loud and supportive in Game 3.
“The atmosphere's going to be crazy,” power forward Jeff Green said. “Our fans give us another boost of energy that we're going to need, and I think it's going to be fun. It's going to be fun.”
Point guard George Hill added, “You're more comfortable at home. Everyone knows that, so we feed off our crowd. We feed off all 20,000 of them. We know that they're going to be loud and give us that extra push to make shots down the stretch, that extra push when you're tired to keep pushing.”
Although the Cavaliers will be appreciative of the support from the home fans, they know communication and physicality will be key to their success in Game 3, just as it has been during their previous eight victories at The Q this postseason.
“More than anything we talked about communication, but physicality is huge for us,” power forward Kevin Love said. “That starts the first play of the game. We have to come out and do that early. If we do that, we're going to be better off.”
And while the Cavaliers understand the home crowd will give them a boost in energy, they know there has to be a reason for the fans to cheer and it starts with them doing “Whatever It Takes” right from the outset of Game 3.
“When we get back on the floor, we've got to come out swinging,” Smith said. “We've got a great core of guys that have like-minded mindsets, so that benefits us tremendously. We still have guys who haven't played in the series that can come off the bench and help us.”
Center Tristan Thompson added, “Everyone knows that we weren't able to get one on the road, so we know how important it is to get Game 3. This is the most important game of the series. We've got to go out there, leave it all out there and put ourselves in position to win.”
6:18 p.m.-CAVS LOOK FOR FIRST WIN IN 2018 NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND -- For the third consecutive year, the Cleveland Cavaliers will return to Quicken Loans Arena at an 0-2 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Despite double-digit scoring performances from four of their five starters, including 29 from small forward LeBron James and 22 from power forward Kevin Love, the Cavaliers were overmatched in the second half and suffered a 122-103 loss to Golden State at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California, Sunday night.
The Cavaliers will look to get their first win in the 2018 NBA Finals with Game 3 in Cleveland tonight.
“We understand,” Cavaliers point guard George Hill said. “I don't think anything needs to be talked about. We all feel that we can still win this series, and we all feel that we can play a lot better. All the guys are focused and ready to go for Game 3.”
In addition to understanding the magnitude of the moment, the Cavaliers know they have to give James more support if they hope to take the first step toward evening the best-of-seven series.
“He's doing great,” Hill said. “He's been leading us all season long, been playing very well, been a catalyst. He's done a great job at putting us on his back and leading us.
“So we've got to feed off of that. We've got to continue to try to knock down shots for him and make easy opportunities so we can give him a rest. I think he's playing a lot of minutes and got the ball in his hands a lot. We need to take the ball a little bit and let him sit down in the corner and catch a break.”
To veterans Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love, two of just four Cavaliers with the team for all four of their NBA Finals appearances since James’ return from Miami in the summer of 2014, the way back into the series is with communication and physicality.
“Definitely starts with the bigs, with myself and Kev, we've got to take on the challenge,” Thompson said. “If I'm doing a lot of slipping, JaVale McGee got a lot of his dunks and Shaun Livingston. They almost kind of scored the same way throughout the game. Both going perfect from the field, we've got to be able to limit those easy buckets for them because those are huge plays for the role players.”
Love added, “I think more than anything we talked about communication, but physicality is huge for us. That starts the first play of the game. We have to come out and do that early. If we do that, we're going to be better off. There are so many times where we kind of wait to let ourselves get into the game, or even if we have a great half of basketball, in that third quarter, we let up. That's really been our Achilles' heel and always been our Achilles' heel.
“To continue to have that physicality throughout the game, doing it here early, we're going to have a great opportunity to do it on our home floor.”
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