Steph Curry was easily the consensus choice for MVP this season - no arguments there. But no one who watched the first three games of this series would hold any doubts over which player on the court has shown the most value.
Two days after playing one the best games of his career, James repeated his heroics in game three, scoring 40 points, adding 12 rebounds and falling two assists shy of becoming only the third man in history with back-to-back triple-doubles in the finals.
If James can somehow drag the Cavaliers to a championship - a team shorn of their second- and third-best players and likely a lottery side without their leader - it will be the defining moment of his phenomenal career.
Defence
After Steph Curry turned in the worst shooting performance of his season in game two, the MVP picked up in game three exactly where he had left off. Curry made only one of his six shots in the first half to finish with three points - but he was far from alone in his offensive struggles.
The Warriors were held to 37 points in the first half - their lowest total of a season in which they averaged 110 points a game - as Cleveland played smart and physical defence to limit Golden State's looks at the basket and take advantage of the extra contact always allowed in the playoffs.
And while the Warriors outscored the Cavs by 12 points in the fourth quarter, inspired by a return to form from Curry as he grabbed 17 of his 27 in the final period, the damage had already been done.
Golden State, the league's leading offence, has been restricted to fewer than 60 points through three quarters only twice this season - in games two of three of the NBA finals. They must make a faster start in Friday's game four to avoid falling into an even bigger hole.
Matthew Dellavedova
When Cleveland lost Kyrie Irving in overtime of Golden State's game-one win, many fans thought the Cavaliers would have little hoping of lifting the Larry O'Brien trophy without their second-best player. But such an assertion was disregarding the Cavs' secret weapon - Australian Matthew Dellavedova.
After averaging a little under five points a game in the regular season, Dellavedova has enjoyed a breakout playoff campaign, combining relentless defence, an incredibly ugly shot and a willful disregard for his own safety to become a key contributor. And the high stakes of game three brought out the best in the undrafted Boomer.
Dellavedova's five quick points to begin the third kick-started a 22-7 run that saw Cleveland grab a seemingly unasailable 20-point lead and, when the game got tight in the fourth, the guard's value was captured in a 90-second stretch.
First, after Steph Curry had cut the deficit to one, Dellavedova drew the foul while falling to the floor and flinging up the ball, watching his circus shot fall in before making the free throw to extend the lead back to four. Then, after spotting a loose ball, Dellavedova threw himself across the court, held on as the bodies crashed on top of him, before getting up and draining two more free throws to set a new career playoff high with 20 points.
