The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-1 series lead with their 96-91 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3.

1.) Dellavedova Does It Again

Golden State made it clear from the outset of the series that their defensive strategy would involve guarding LeBron James with one defender for as long as possible. They understood that utilizing such a strategy might enable James to score in bunches, but they felt it would also limit him as a playmaker. LeBron was phenomenal again in Game 3, but his 40 points on 34 shots is not enough to constitute a successful offense itself, which is why he needs support from his teammates. Enter Matthew Dellavedova.

Dellavedova had another strong defensive game, as he pestered Stephen Curry and limited him to 3-for-9 shooting from the field. However, the main story in Game 3 was how Dellavedova’s scoring propelled a Cleveland offense that was in desperate need of a secondary source of offensive creation. Dellavedova’s ability to manufacture his own shot was a major unexpected boost. During the regular season, only about one third of Dellavedova’s field goals were unassisted and he shot only 32 percent on 1.6 attempts per game after taking three or more dribbles. In last night’s game, five of his seven made field goals were unassisted and he made four of the eight shots he took after dribbling 3+ times.

Before the series, many experts predicted the Cavs could successfully attack the Warriors by setting ball screens with Andrew Bogut’s man. Golden State’s defense calls for Bogut to drop back on pick-and-rolls, which yields space for pull-up jumpers. Kyrie Irving excels at those types of shots but his injury was supposed to eliminate that threat. Dellavedova made sure that wasn’t the case in Game 3 by scoring on a variety of pull-ups and floaters. He made four of his five shot attempts coming after receiving a ball-screen from Mozgov when Bogut was the main pick-and-roll defender. 

What may have been the biggest basket of the game came late in the fourth quarter with the Cavs in the midst of a brutal scoring drought. The Warriors cut the lead to one for the first time since the 2nd quarter and the Cavs 17-point fourth quarter lead seemed in danger of slipping away. Then, of course, Dellavedova saved the day by driving into the paint and making another floater while getting knocked to the ground and fouled. It was a miraculous shot in what has been a miraculous series for the undrafted guard from Maryborough, Australia.

2.) Cleveland’s Excellent Perimeter & Interior Defense

Three-pointers are the main weapon for the Warriors' offense that depends upon the sharpshooting abilities of Curry and Klay Thompson. Curry is the best shooter in the league because of his ability to make spectacular pull-up three-pointers. Thompson, on the other hand, is renowned for his catch-and-shoot prowess from behind the arc. The Cavaliers have done a great job thus far of preventing Curry from taking his most dangerous three-point shot and of contesting Thompson on his preferred attempts

Stephen Curry

* For First 11 Quarters Of Finals

Klay Thompson

Trapping ball-screens and communicating effectively with regards to switching and helping off the ball has enabled the Cavaliers to slow Curry and Thompson from behind the arc. As a result, they held the Warriors to 28 percent from behind the arc through the first 11 quarters (more on that later), more than 10 percentage points below their regular season three-point percentage.

The Warriors have tried to counter the Cavaliers aggressive three-point defense by taking the ball inside but they haven’t been very successful. Golden State’s 56.6 percent field goal percentage on shots in the paint from the regular season has dipped to 46 percent in these finals. Draymond Green, in particular, has struggled to convert inside. Green’s and the Warriors’ difficulties as a team can largely be attributed to the interior presence of Timofey Mozgov, who had 4 blocks in Game 3. 

3.) Coming Alive?

The Warriors started to show signs of life on offense after they fell behind by 20 late in the third quarter. After starting the 4th quarter down 17 points, the Warriors offense started to show signs of life. Curry was more aggressive in looking for his own shot by keeping his dribble when getting trapped rather than dishing it to the open screener right away. Good screens from Festus Ezeli and David Lee got Tristan Thompson switched onto Curry. Whether Thompson switching more onto Curry was a strategic decision or something that occurred due to fatigue setting in for Cleveland’s perimeter defenders is unknown. Regardless of the reason, Curry took advantage of the matchup, shooting 7-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 on 3s with Thompson switched onto him. 

Steve Kerr’s decision to play the aforementioned Lee for 13 minutes was very helpful in bolstering the Warriors offense. So far this series, Green and Bogut have been largely ineffective roll men despite the large amount of space presented to them by Cleveland’s aggressive pick-and-roll defense. Lee, on the other hand, demonstrated a consistent ability to take advantage of that space to collapse the defense and set up his teammates for easy scoring opportunities. His presence in the lineup had a dramatically positive effect on the offense. The Warriors posted an offensive efficiency rating of 81.9 points per 100 possessions in 35 minutes with Lee off the court, and 138.1 points per 100 possessions in the 13 minutes that Lee played. 

Lee’s deficiencies on defense are well documented and whether Kerr determines that his utility on offense is enough to give him major minutes will be an interesting subplot of Game 4.