Jun 9, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors forward David Lee (10) during the second quarter of game three of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers held a 44-37 lead over the Golden State Warriors at halftime in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.
The best-of-seven series was tied at one game apiece entering the first Finals game in Cleveland since 2007.
Forward LeBron James scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first half, and forward James Jones made his second 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to match the Cavs’ biggest lead of the night.
Stephen Curry’s shooting struggles continued on a night when the Warriors trailed since the opening tip. The point guard shot just 1-for-6 in the first half (1-for-4 on 3-pointers) and had three points and four rebounds at the break. Curry was shooting 21 percent (6-for-29) since the start of Game 2.
Golden State shooting guard Klay Thompson scored six points in the half on 3-of-9 shooting.
Reserve forward Andre Iguodala led the Warriors with 10 first-half points, while Cavs forward Tristan Thompson had seven points and seven rebounds.
Cavs guard Iman Shumpert returned to the locker room briefly after appearing to injure his left shoulder on a screen set by Warriors forward Draymond Green. Shumpert, who dislocated the shoulder earlier in the season and missed six weeks as a result, returned to the game in the second quarter wearing a compression shirt and promptly made his first shot of the night, a 3-pointer.
NOTES: Warriors coach Steve Kerr chuckled when he was asked prior to the game if Cavaliers F LeBron James was the best athlete going today. “Can you find another one?” Kerr asked. “Maybe American Pharoah?” … Golden State G Stephen Curry doesn’t believe Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena can get as loud as Oracle Arena was for Games 1 and 2. “(Oracle) is the loudest arena in the league,” Curry said. … The Warriors took to intentionally fouling F Tristan Thompson on a couple of plays in this series. Cleveland coach David Blatt hopes the Hack-A rule is revisited this summer. “For now, the rules are as they are, and that’s a tactic,” he said. … James noticed in the schedule games in Cleveland are every other day, while there are extra off days built into the Finals schedule between games in Oakland. “It’s a difficult schedule,” James said. “That’s the schedule, and it is what it is.”
