CLEVELAND (AP) — The latest from Game 3 of the NBA Finals:
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9:20 p.m.
Even the King pays homage to other royalty.
Just before tip-off of Game 3, what did LeBron James do? Bowed in respect toward a fan in the jam-packed stands.
That fan just happened to be Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown.
Then James helped Cleveland jump out to an early first-quarter lead.
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9:11 p.m.
After eight long years, an NBA Finals game has tipped off again in Cleveland.
LeBron James challenged his home fans to be loud and they are delivering. Every James appearance on huge overhead videoboard draws a louder roar than the last, culminated by his introduction at the end of the starting lineups.
The Cavs have never won a home game in the NBA Finals. They lost twice here en route to being swept in 2007, never made it back in James’ final few seasons here, and then were never close while he went every year during his four years in Miami.
James got things off to a good start, hitting his first shot from the field for the first points of the game.
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9:05 p.m.
This crowd is delirious, and Game 3 hasn’t started.
When the Cavaliers took the floor, 20,000 fans inside Quicken Loans Arena, most of them wearing wine-colored T-shirts, erupted in cheers.
Seconds later, the crowd got even louder when LeBron James, dancing and rapping lyrics, was shown on the giant mid-court scoreboard. That was followed by chants of “Del-ly, Del-ly,” for guard Matthew Dellavedova, one of the Game 2 heroes.
James said earlier in the day that he expected Cleveland’s crowd to be louder than he’s ever heard, and it appears he could be right.
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8:59 p.m.
The Warriors say Klay Thompson is just fine.
The All-Star guard was seen getting off the team bus Monday night with a heavily wrapped left knee.
Thompson later assured reporters the he is indeed OK.
As a crowd of cameras surrounded him in the Golden State locker room before the game, Thompson lay on the floor as a team trainer worked on his legs and midsection. When asked about it, Thompson said it was nothing more than a deep-tissue warmup exercise.
“Just an easy way to get loose quick,” Thompson said.
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8:55 p.m.
Dwyane Wade is back on ABC to help with the pregame and halftime analysis of Game 3, and he knows LeBron James — his former Miami Heat teammate and still close friend — better than almost anyone.
But James’ raw emotion when Cleveland won Game 2 was something new, even for Wade.
“I’ve been to four Finals with the guy and I’ve never seen him that emotional,” Wade said during Tuesday’s pregame show. “And what I took from that is that he has some sense of ownership. This is his city. This is an organization that has never been to this place before, their first win without Kevin Love, without Kyrie (Irving). He had me and Chris (Bosh) in Miami so it’s a little different situation.”
Wade’s assessment of James’ performance in this series: “Spectacular.”
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8:35 p.m.
Golden State’s biggest star, well its cutest one, has arrived.
Riley Curry, the adorable 2-year-old daughter of Warriors guard Stephen Curry, walked into Quicken Loans Arena along with her grandparents about an hour before Game 3 started.
The youngster has stolen the show from her famous daddy by hamming it up during his postgame interview sessions throughout the playoffs.
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8:01 p.m.
Biggest game since 1997.
That was the consensus among Cleveland fans, who have waited 51 years for either the Cavaliers, Indians or Browns to win a championship.
The streets outside Quicken Loans Arena were packed with fans in the hours leading up to tip-off for Game 3 as the Cavs hosted their first NBA Finals matchup since 2007, when Cleveland was swept in four games by San Antonio.
This time around, though, Clevelanders, normally a pretty pessimistic bunch, are feeling hopeful about the Cavs’ chances of ending a title drought dating to 1964.
“Very confident and excited,” said Sarah Zuercher, who was headed to the game with her husband, Chris, wearing a “Woah Delly” T-shirt to honor pesky guard Matthew Dellavedova.
Bars and restaurants were overflowing with patrons on trendy East 4th Street, just a long 3-pointer or two from the Q.
The Zuerchers aren’t greedy, but they’re hoping if the Cavs can win the title, they do it at home.
“We’ll take it any way we can,” Sarah said. “But wouldn’t it be fantastic if they could win it in Cleveland?”
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers and AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report.
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