Cavs Fall 111-108 in Game 3; Six Takeaways from the Loss

5. When the Going Gets Tough, Look to Thompson

Thompson had a great game in spite of the loss. It was clear he was on another level when it came to his mental toughness– which isn’t anything new.

What he did do, is show how valuable he is to this team once the playoffs roll around.

Thompson finished the evening with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Even more impressive is the fact that seven of those rebounds were offensive. The Cavs only had 13 second chance points tonight, but a majority of those came from Thompson’s efforts.

Also noteworthy is the fact that he went 12/15 from the free throw line. Maybe teams should think twice before attempting Hack-a-Tristan in the future?

During a close game, Thompson showed that he can be trusted to know his role down the stretch and be a spark plug by doing grunt work.

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