Basketball fans around the world were treated with another overtime game in the 2015 NBA finals. This time around, the Cleveland Cavaliers walked away with a 95-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers have evened the series at one game apiece and have stolen homecourt advantage from the Warriors. The two teams now head to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland for Games 3 and 4.
LeBron James was an absolute beast once again for Cleveland, as he recorded his fifth career Finals triple-double with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists on Sunday. Meanwhile, the reigning MVP Stephen Curry was ice cold in Game 2, as he tallied only 19 points on 5-of-23 shooting for the Warriors.
Which of the two superstars in James and Curry will lift his team to a crucial series tiebreaking win on Tuesday? Find out what some experts around the web have to say as they predict the outcome of Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Over in the NHL, the Stanley Cup Finals series is also even at one game apiece. Head on over here for our preview of the Game 3 matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Experts Predictions for Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game 3
Series Scores and Schedule
Game 1 – June 4, 9:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers 100 at Golden State Warriors 108 (OT)
Game 2 – June 7, 9:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers 95 at Golden State Warriors 93 (OT)
Game 3 – June 9, 9:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors (-2) at Cleveland Cavaliers (+2); total: 194.5 – view all NBA lines
Game 4 – June 11, 9:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 5* – June 14, 9:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors
Game 6*– June 16, 9:00 PM ET – Golden State Warriors at Cleveland Cavaliers
Game 7* – June 19, 9:00 PM ET – Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors
*If necessary
RantSports
| Expert | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Jerry Landry | Golden State wins |
Jerry Landry of RantSports was very impressed with LeBron James’ outing in Game 2, and boldly predicts that the King will erupt for 50 points in Game 3.
[sc:NBA240banner ]50 points might seem like a stretch, but everybody should expect nothing less from James, who looks put on a monster effort on Tuesday in front of a championship-starved crowd in Cleveland. James had scored 30 or more points in four out of his last five postseason games.
Landry also believes that Curry will bounce back from his rough outing in Game 2, and that Golden State will still prevail with the victory in Game 3. The League MVP missed 13 three-point attempts in Game 2 – the most in NBA Finals history.
Curry’s slump could easily end in Game 3. Even after Game 2’s poor shooting performance, Golden State’s best player is still averaging 28 points per game on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc this postseason.
Sports Chat Place
| Expert | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Sports Chat Place | Cleveland wins |
Over at Sports Chat Place, they predict that Cleveland will win Game 3 in another close match. They praised Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova for his superb defense against Stephen Curry.
The normally prolific MVP was completely shut down by Cleveland’s backup point guard, as Curry went 0-for-8 from the field and committed four turnovers when he faced Dellavedova on defense in Game 2. Again, a repeat of Curry’s off night is not likely going to happen in Game 3, but the Cavs certainly have found a solid defender to contain Golden State’s best weapon on the floor.
And while Klay Thompson had a fantastic game with 34 points on 50 percent shooting, the rest of Golden State’s supposedly deep roster did little to help their team win on Sunday. The folks over at SCP took note that the Warriors’ bench players combined to score just 17 points in Game 2, which was only half of their output of 34 points combined from Game 1.
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Top Bet
| Expert | Prediction |
|---|---|
| Top Bet | Cleveland wins |
Lastly, we here at Top Bet also believe that the Cavs will take Game 3 on their home floor.
Rebounding continues to be a key point in the series, as Cleveland’s starting frontcourt tandem of Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov combined for 25 of the Cavs’ 55 boards in Game 2. Cleveland had 10 more rebounds than Golden State in the game, which is good news for the Cavs as they are getting more opportunities to score against the high-octane offense of the Warriors.
We also put Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith on the spotlight, who we expect to break out in Game 3 now that the series has shifted to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. The streaky shooter is averaging 12.6 points and 2.5 three-pointers per game at Quicken Loans Arena this postseason. That has to be encouraging for Smith, who shot a combined 8-for-26 from the floor in Games 1 and 2 at Oracle Arena.
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