>> mike: tonight's king of the court is brought to you by burger king. >> mark: this is why you have lebron james on the floor. his ability to make guys around him better. look at those numbers. they don't lie. >> jeff: they did not put him back in the game. they brought kevin love back even though the warriors are fairly small. keeping lebron james on the ben bench. >> mike: just over a minute gone by. kyrie irving, deron williams, kyle korver, thompson and love out there for the cavaliers. >> mark: unless james tells me he needs the rest, i'm playing him. you can get all the rest you want tomorrow. >> mike: irving. deron williams fakes a three. now throws it up. shot short.

long rebound, mccaw. mccaw still in the game. they love his defense. and he's already hit a three. thompson way outside -- fight for the rebound, david west can't hold on and korver saves it -- no, he stepped out of bounds. and here comes lebron james. that heel just getting that yellow part of the baseline. so, james comes in and deron williams sits. >> jeff: and this is a tough match-up. they've got kyle korver on klay thompson. >> mike: iguodala looking. finds west. thompson. blocked by korver. picked up by mccaw. shot clock obviously didn't reset. iguodala on the drive.

draymond green sents -- short on the three and irving, the rebound. >> mark: i understand it being a tough match-up, but i talked about it already. kyle korver competes. give him credit. >> mike: alley-oop to love, but he can't finish. >> jeff: you can't trot back, though. too many trots in the last game. >> mike: mccall jumper -- in and out. david west tip is good. west up and in. that's his third field goal, six points off the bench. this is the closest it's been in the second half. irving, contested jumper, knocks it down! 34 for irving. >> jeff: you cannot trot, mike, against this warrior team when something means as much as winning a championship.

>> mike: west. four to shoot. iguodala. foul line jumper just as the shot clock expires. by the way, that last three-pointer from irving, the 21st of the game for cleveland. 21 of 35. 60%. irving drives on thompson. left-handed, throws it up and gets the bounce! time-out, golden state. 37 more points for kyrie irving. >> mark: this guy is incredible offensive weapon. klay thompson, size, strength, contest -- that's good defense. better offense. how many guys to we know take that shot and you take him out of the ball game? what are you doing? you're not serious. but uncle drew is showing up and flat-out showing out. cindy, you don't even have a dress. no dress. come on girls, she's not coming with us.

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>> mike: espn's 30 for 30 takes you on a trip into nba history. celtics/lakers best of enemies chronicles the two storied franchises, culminating in the epic '80s battles. tuesday and wednesday at 8:00. >> jeff: irving. what a special offensive talent. multiple moves against a great defender. and how many left-hand finishes from distance has he made here tonight? >> mike: he's so comfortable with his off-hand. as durant, jefferson right up on him. durant, pull-up shot. won't go. rebound deflected and taken by irving. irving goes at draymond green. kicks it out in the corner but

throws it away. only the tenth turnover for cleveland. 16-point game with over eight left. curry tied up. durant looks up at the shot clock down the other end. five on the 24. finds livingston. corner. curry for three -- he's now 2 for 8 from downtown tonight. >> jeff: that was both great defense and great offense. nice extra pass by livi livings. >> mike: jefferson gets free, and a bullet pass from james for his tenth assist. and the lead back up to 18. >> mark: good job by jefferson. they were reading korver off the screen, slipped the pick.

>> mike: thompson. draws the foul. as irving will draw his second foul. and free throws for klay thompson. >> mark: again, you got a small forward playing the point guard position. able to read the action and the defense. finding a wide open richard jefferson. >> jeff: we were talking earlier about small forwards who can really pass. one name we forgot, or one of maybe a few, is grant hill. >> mark: no question about it. he'd be in rare air, if he stayed healthy. obviously, he's a hall of famer. but if he stayed healthy, the things he was able to do on a basketball floor at the small forward position, was special. >> jeff: i got another one. rick berry. >> mark: great passer. >> mike: hubie brown -- >> mark: great player. >> mike: he's across the way. he would agree with that. >> mark: and rick would agree with you, also. >> mike: klay thompson goes 1

for 2. 122 points, with still seven minutes remaining. james holding. shot clock at five. james pulls back. that's a two-pointer. lebron james drills it. he's got 31. >> jeff: all that movement opens up the floor in case they want to isolate james late. >> mike: draymond green off a nice feed from livingston. and lebron james took a shot. golden state has never led. cleveland stormed out with 49 points in the first quarter. a finals record. largest lead has been 22. shot clock winding down. smith tied up. launches a three-pointer. and a 24-second violation as it

fails to hit the rim. or was there a foul called? >> mark: no foul. >> mike: mark davis is talking with john goebel. shot clock expired as tristan thompson caught the rebound that did not hit the rim. well, they're going to go over and look at something. >> jeff: they did call a foul. it's just -- if the violation preceded the foul. >> mark: who did they call a foul on? >> jeff: i believe tristan thompson, if i'm not mistaken. >> jeff: the >> mike: there you see thompson down low. thompson, number 13. >> jeff: no, they called it on livingston. >> mike: saw mark davis signal, stay here. that's a tough call on livingston. as both just grappling. >> jeff: and the hold definitely

takes place before -- i think at .2. >> mike: been a busy night in the replay center. >> jeff: ed malloy, a finals official -- they only bring finals officials, bob delanedel to me, to the replay center during this time. >> mike: right. 0.0. and it's right around the same time and then mark davis signals -- >> jeff: i think it's a good call. >> mike: yeah. so, it is on livings on the. >> mark: taking a look at the replay, it was the right call. >> mike: only the first team foul. second on livingston. james one-on-one with durant. shot clock winding down. james pulls back,

three-pointer -- kyrie irving, the offensive rebound. shuffle pass inside to thompson, hit hard. and a hard foul by draymond green. obviously the crowd responds. cavs players signaling, let's go back to the replay center. you can hear the crowd react to the replay on the big screen. livingston fouls -- i -- that, by definition, from what we see in the nba, that's a flagrant foul. >> mark: by definition, you are correct, mike. that's coming straight down on the head of tristan thompson. >> jeff: i think he just got caught up in the air. >> mark: i know what you do think. that deserves to be taken a look at. >> jeff: at least a look, right. >> mike: another loose ball foul. by the way, the foul was called

on livingston. so, the whistle came, and then green came in afterwards, which would have been a technical foul. >> mark: still got to look at all that action, though. >> mike: yeah, absolutely agree. >> jeff: i'm actually glad -- i'm so sick of the replays. >> mark: you're not looking at that and saying that's not a flagrant. >> jeff: i agree with you, too, but -- >> mike: irving drives. lost the handle. gets it back. throws it up, baneker won't go. tristan thompson with the follow. best game of the finals. >> mark: he's been outstanding. not just rebounding. energy and effort. the thing he's done to put this team in the position they're in right now. he's back. >> mike: curry to green. green lines up the three -- won't go. james, now one rebound shy of another triple-double. pass inside to smith. uptop, irving for three --

irving strips it. came close to going off curry's leg. still golden state ball. as andre iguodala's going to check back in for golden state. if the cavs can force a game five, and they're on their way right now, abc's coverage of the finals continues monday from oakland. "nba countdown" begins at 8:00 eastern on espn. continues at 8:30 on abc. tipoff just after 9:00 eastern. those are the fans at oracle arena, watching this one. thompson fakes. shot clock at eight. poked away by smith. iguodala, left-handed. can't get it to fall. and james has his triple-double. 31 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds. kicks it out. jefferson for three -- james with the steal as he collides with j.r. smith.

durant has it -- fouled from behind. and smith is shaken up. james still down but he appears to be okay. after james came up with the steal, the collision forced him to loose the ball. free throws for durant. >> mark: good job of sprinting back. disrupting the fastbreak attempt. collision by james and smith. fortunately for the cavs fans, both guys are up. and looking like they're okay. >> mike: both will remain in the game. durant to the line. by the way, lebron james' triple-double, his ninth in the nba finals. which is now the most, one ahead of magic johnson. nobody else even has two. >> mark: that's a tough hit that j.r. smith took, mike. >> mike: nobody else has more than two, i should say. we'll take a time-out. 4:30 remaining, game four. cavs still in control.

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puppymonkeybaby... mountain dew kickstart. dew. juice. caffeine. >> mark: once again, it's about the dynamic duo. this time, it not curry and durant. it's lebron james and kyrie irving. starting the game, setting the tone. aggressive. easy hoops. making plays in transition. special all-time great talent. and then kyrie irving, getting his uncle drew on. isolation. where's the shrinking of the floor? too much pressure on klay thompson to defend him one-on-one. special offensive weapon. both guys putting on a clinic.

another spectacular performance. >> jeff: someone let me know that when lebron threw it up off the board, it counts as neither a shot nor a rebound. >> mark: that's wild. >> jeff: statistically, that's how it was addressed. >> mark: statistically, it should be a shot but definitely should be a rebound. >> jeff: i have no answers. >> mark: that's not the first time, my friend. >> mike: jefferson. it should count as an assist. it was a great pass. james. piece of the arm. ball knocked out of bounds. and it's still cleveland ball. that's a pass. so, i can understand not a shot. >> jeff: how do you know? >> mike: no, that's the problem. you can't go according to intent. >> mark: i once made that play

years ago but it was a lay-up. >> jeff: when other people rebound their own misses like on long rebounds, they're not given, like, nothing. >> mike: all lebron james cared that it counted for two points. irving for three. in and out. >> jeff: oh, mike. you're not that naive, are you? they want their numbers. come on. >> mike: i stand corrected. durant for three -- long rebound out to jefferson. throws it ahead to irving. irving goes right at iguodala, side step lay-up, blocked by durant. irving gets it back. fantastic block from kevin durant. but the cavs still hold on. james jumper -- and a foul on kyrie irving. that's going to be his fourth.

>> jeff: this is really great effort by kevin durant. the chasedown. whether it's a goaltend -- i think he got it on the way up. but that's the effort. they held them to 40 points here in the second half. they had 49 in the first quarter. >> mark: speaking of effort, richard jefferson has been spectacular for the cavs. defense he's playing on durant, the extra effort plays he's making. >> mike: durant drives -- and is fouled. tristan thompson upset, but picks up his fourth personal. you're right, mark. tyronn lue absolutely trusts jefferson in big moments. >> mark: and that's a foul. comes down with the right hand on kevin durant. >> jeff: i'm just saying -- i don't know how these -- i can see why a referee would overreact and give a technical foul out unwarranted, because

everybody complains on every single call. >> mike: there are referees all across the country who are smiling right now. >> jeff: no, i mean -- i don't -- i mean, i don't condone the quick technical, but i can understand emotionally how it can happen. >> mark: i think it is also important, if you're a referee, to have the ability to say, i was wrong. >> jeff: absolutely. >> mike: the best ones do. >> jeff: they do they come in, they say, i may have kicked that call. >> mike: and a foul is going to go against kevin durant. durant's going to pick up his third. game with seven technicals and a flagrant. >> jeff: and 13 reviews, i think. what did they do before reviews? what did the great officials do? they controlled the game on the floor. they didn't have to go to some monitor to see if they were right.

they sold it as they were right. >> mike: well, durant clearly fouled there. kevin love's going to come back in. there's 3:18 remaining. iguodala sits down. mccaw comes back. 15-point game. by the way, the highest scoring game in finals history is 148. the celtics -- that was the memorial day massacre, when they beat the lakers by 34. wound up losing the series. james. smith. jefferson drives baseline. kicks it out to irving. irving gets in the paint. out to james, up top, smith. three-pointer -- bang! >> mark: they have put on a clinic, making the extra pass. turning down shots, putting guys in position to be successful. >> mike: curry misses.

mccaw, the rebound. nba finals record 22nd three. 22 of 42. klay thompson can't answer. smith with a rebound. j.r. smith with 15 more points tonight. >> jeff: what's the all-time record, no matter what? >> mike: 25. celebrating starting here at quicken loans arena. irving for three! he's a scoring machine! >> mark: kyrie irving. one-on-one, gets to his spot, elevates and knocks it down. then looks at dwyane wade and says, "i told you so."

momma, there goes those men.

>> mike: well, if the cavs force a game five, and they're just about to make it official, abc's coverage of the nba finals continues monday from oakland. "nba countdown" at 8:00 on espn, continues on abc at 8:30. and tipoff from oracle arena, shortly after 9:00 eastern. >> jeff: benches have cleared for both teams. >> mike: look at kyrie irving. career and elimination games last year when they were down 3-1. went 41, 23 and 26. has 40 here tonight after 38 points in game three. as jeff mentioned, the benches cleared, as the cavaliers are

sending this series back to oakland. mcgee gets fouled with 1:58 remaining. lebron james, another triple-double. averaging one through four games of these times. passing magic johnson for most finals triple-doubles. >> mark: you think about it, mike, down 3-1 after tonight, if you take away kevin durant, lebron james is the mvp of this series, clear-cut. >> mike: key lee irving is right behind him, too. >> mark: absolutely. >> mike: this is the exact same scenario after four games last year. they got here a little differently, but it's going to be 3-1, once again. heading back to oakland. >> jeff: but no suspension and no durant. >> mark: give this cavs team credit. i've seen a lot of teams and played with some teams that may have laid down, not wanting to make the trip to san francisco. it's a credit to their

leadership, starting with t-lue, lebron james and the supporting cast. obviously kyrie irving. >> jeff: ty lue told us before the game that his team had good spirit and he didn't know if it was just talk or if it was real, and it was real. >> mark: well, you're right. we presented the question to him. compare this team's mentality last year and this year. actually, he thinks this team's mentality is much better. that's a coach that has a finger on the pulse of this team.willik williams, james jones, iman shumpert. derrick williams is fouled. and dahntay jones in the game. you see steph curry, just 2 of 9 from three. did have ten assists tonight. kevin durant, 35 more points but this night belongs to the defending champions. the cavaliers with one of the greatest offensive performances in nba finals history.

the chant going out, "cavs in seven." >> jeff: a lot of steps to get to that point again. >> mike: well, they made history last year. biggest finals comeback ever, down 3-1. this one, a more difficult task. but it's not over yet. clark from deep. and it all goes back to how they started this game. 49 points in the first quarter. an nba finals record. they hit seven threes in the first quarter. they're just adding to their finals record. of the all-time 24 of 45 from downtown. just a magnificent shooting

this crowd has loved every minute of it. so disappointed in game three at fourth quarter lead. failed to score the final three minutes. boy, did they respond like a defending champion should. clark will hoist one up. and now the cavs will dribble it out. cleveland is still alive. as golden state's quest for playoff perfection comes to an end tonight. and more importantly, the cavs force game five monday in oakland.

golden state was hoping to clinch once again here at quicken loans arena. they'll get that chance on their home floor monday night. let's go to doris. >> doris: well, i'velebron jame. kyrie, i'll start with you. whether it was five, six and finals or tonight, what is it about elimination games that brings out the best in do or die. we understand that. you know, us leading the charge on both ends of the floor, you know, you got to demand a lot of yourself. have, makes the job a lot easier. but obviously the job is still far from over. i mean, we're still in a hole. do or die, every game we play from now. this is a good start. >> doris: what was so different about this group's disposition tonight? >> just the way we came out.

we heard the comments, saying it would be satisfying to win on our home floor. we were ready to go back to san fran and get ready to play for game five. >> doris: kyrie, thank you. lebron, many thought this was a foregone conclusion, tonight boub t would be the crowning for a championship for golden state. what did you like about the fight that your guys brought? >> i mean, we have championship dna, as well. and we showed that tonight, we kept our composure. we was in attack mode. we shared the ball. we moved the ball. and defensively, we were physical. you have to be that every single game, so, it was one game. and it's going to be even tougher in game five, but we look forward to the challenge. >> doris: lebron, there have been eight 30-point triple-doubles in nba finals history. you have four of them what are you trying to give your group every single night? >> anything i can. any and everything i can. i try to be a vocal leader, as well, lead by example, you know, i've always wanted to be a triple-threat, being able to score, pass, rebound and also

talk guys through defensive coverages and everything, so -- you know, i was there tonight for my guys, i was able to make a few plays offensively and defensively to help us. >> doris: what can you take on the road that you had here tonight that can help you, because the deficit is the same, 3-1, but the challenge will be very different. >> oh, we know it's going to be very difficult. but if we -- if we continue to not turn the ball over like we've done the last two games, especially in their building where they are extremely good, they are extremely -- they're a great team. you know, and, but if we can do that and we can continue to defend, keep bodies and bodies, we give ourselves a good chance. >> doris: lebron, thank you. >> thank you, doris. >> mike: the mindset was win one game. boy, they did that. wire to wire victory. they led by double figures the entire second hatch and we'll have at least one more game in their season. kyrie irving, magnificent tonight, once again, playing so

brilliantly on his home floor. 40 points. lebron james with yet another triple-double with 31, 11 and 10. and it's now 3-1 in this best of seven series. more coverage to come from cleveland, ohio, we've got more games in these nba finals. i've been an army paratrooper for twelve years. i've logged hundreds of jumps