The Cleveland Cavaliers got back at the defending champions Golden State Warriors, beating the latter by 30 points, 120-90, in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Thursday (Philippine time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Superstars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving stepped up for the Eastern champs and combined for 62 points as Cleveland sliced Golden State’s best-of-seven series lead to 2-1.
The Cavs, who treated Game 3 as a do-or-die game, started hot and led 33-16 after the first period, then withstood a second quarter rally and finished the Warriors in the second half to log the lopsided win.
James had 32 while Irving netted 30 for the Cavs, who were playing without Kevin Love.
No one scored more than 20 for the Warriors, with MVP Steph Curry leading the way with 19 points. Harrison Barnes added 18 while Andre Igoudala chipped in 11.