<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" While the talk has often shifted to LeBron James&amp;#039; whip-smart basketball brain in recent seasons, the King can still call on some formidable athleticism when required. So it was in Game 3 of the NBA Finals last night, when he called in an air strike on the fast break after deflecting a Steph Curry pass to force a turnover. He found Kyrie Irving with a quick pass, then took flight in the general direction of the rim. Irving&amp;#039;s return pass was high and wide of the bucket, but no matter: James rose, head nearly even with the rim, to corral it with one hand and slam it full extension.  It was an exclamation point on a dominant performance from the embattled Cleveland Cavaliers, trounced twice by the Warriors in the Bay Area coming into this one. This was do or die, and it proved a\u00A0triumphant return home for the Cavs, led by James&amp;#039; 32 points and\u00A0Kyrie Irving&amp;#039;s 30. J.R. Smith added 20, while Tristan Thompson posted 14 with 13 rebounds.\u00A0Golden State\u00A0struggled throughout. Their All-Star backcourt of\u00A0Curry and Klay Thompson could not get going in the first half, and the Warriors as a collective could not cope with the Cavs&amp;#039; disruptive defense.        Cleveland made a habit of clogging up passing lanes and keeping their hands active. The result was something close to what the Oklahoma City Thunder were able to do in their best games in the Western Conference Finals\u2014long, flailing arms creating deflections and turnovers for easy fast break points. In Games 1 and 2, the Cavs allowed the Warriors to play their game, perhaps under the delusion that they could win the shooting battle. Here, they learned the value of making this slick-passing outfit uncomfortable. The Cavs might be happiest with Irving&amp;#039;s performance, though. He scored freely, but he also looked in a dangerous mood off the dribble. Curry and Thompson\u00A0could not cope with him at times, as his elastic crossover and expert use of screens sent them flying this way and that.        LeBron and Co. will take heart from this one. They have a fantastic chance to even the series at two games a piece when these teams meet at Quicken Loans Arena again on Friday. It&amp;#039;s fair to say a different Warriors team will likely show up for that one, though. Head coach Steve Kerr called this performance &amp;quot;soft,&amp;quot; and the record-breakers from Oakland will be looking to remedy that before Game 4. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/sports/videos/a45656/lebron-james-one-hand-alley-oop/>