Cavs Fall 118-113 in Final Minute of Game 3; Three Takeaways

3. Effort vs. Talent

The Cavs gave Game 3 their all.

There were so many positives I was planning to give you as takeaways tonight, (Irving’s third quarter! Love’s defense! The smaller lineup!) up until the very last minute that is.

Instead of shrinking in the third quarter like they did in Games 1 & 2, the Cavs seemed to make adjustments to problems throughout the game.

They went from having six assists in the first half to eight in the third quarter alone.

Irving made his presence felt on the offensive end for what felt like the first time in this series.

Love was masterful at reading passing lanes, and completely changed the Cavs’ defensive game plan when he was at the five spot.

Cleveland even took their first second-half lead of the series in this game.

In the end though, the Cavs still ran out of gas.

Effort was not an issue tonight. At times, even when the Cavs were down, it looked like they were up.

That’s what makes this loss scarier than the other ones.

The fact that the Warriors are just better was obvious. They have far more weapons on both ends of the floor, and they know how to utilize them better than the Cavs. And even when they are down, they are never fully out of striking distance.

Of course, a lot of that comes down to Durant. Another clutch performance of 31 points, eight rebounds and four assists, combined with a game-winning shot shows just how different it is to have Durant in the Warriors’ “death lineup” instead of Harrison Barnes.

After losing in the Finals last year, the Warriors went out and signed the second-best player in the world to a 73-win team, imagining this exact scenario. Tonight showed, crystal clear, just how outmatched the Cavs are this year.

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