Cavaliers fall behind 3-0

The Cleveland Cavaliers controlled most of the first half and seemed to have things going their way for a victory that would be the tightener for the NBA championship series, but a late half spurt by the visiting Golden State Warriors allowed them to keep the game close at the half and then the defense that stopped most of the Warriors other than Kevin Durant in the first half, sprung a leak in the second half.

The leak didn't take the Cavaliers out of the game, but an inability to stop Kevin Durant did and when Durant hit a three-pointer from Akron with less than a minute to play, the chance at a series-changing win was dead.
Seconds later, it was Golden State taking the 110-102 decision and with it a 3-0 lead in the series.
In other words, it's over, it's just a matter of whether it is needed to take one more trip to Oakland to end it.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 33 points, Kevin Love added 20 points and the return of Rodney Hood score him score 15 points off the bench.
Game four is Friday night in Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) In this one, there aren't a lot of things that you can blame (other than not being strong enough on defense) other than the better team won.
This series might have been won two summers ago when Golden State signed Kevin Durant.
These teams were closely matched before that signing.
Now, they aren't that close at all and it takes a standout game from Cleveland and a slightly off night from the Warriors to keep it close.
Thanks, NBA.

2) Even the Cleveland defense, which usually isn't terrific managing to scrape together a nice night in holding Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to poor shooting nights.
The pair shot 7 for 27 from the floor and combined for just 21 points-nights like that should give you a chance to win.
On this night-Cleveland had a chance, but it wasn't enough.

3) That doesn't mean that the defense is still anywhere near average and when the Warriors move the ball around, the Cavaliers consistently find themselves out of position.
They just don't have the athletes to stick with the Warriors weapons and some Cavaliers just don't keep their wits about them enough to be in the right place.

4) Cleveland did use Rodney Hood for the first time since the Clinton administration and he responded with not only 15 points, but some unexpected energy too.
Hood could have made a difference in game one (If motivated) I think and it'll be interesting to see if he can play well again in game four.

5) I've always liked the shooting skills of Kyle Korver, but either the Warriors defense him well or he has issues of some type because he just doesn't shoot well against them.
Korver played just eleven minutes but was zero for four.
When you have just one elite skill, one can't afford to slump.

6) I don't want to talk LeBron James future yet, but he has to look at this team and wonder if the future to contend in Cleveland is finished.
Having turned Kyrie Irving into a collection of mismatched parts, I cannot imagine as James looks around that he feels confident with a team with salary cap issues can make enough changes to turn the tide.
Other than the number eight pick and maybe Kevin Love, Cleveland lacks the assets to otherwise make a lot of moves.
If there is one factor that could cause James to leave Lake Erie, that is more than likely at the top of the list...