Towards the end of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Cleveland’s Dahntay Jones, a bit player of no consequence, wheeled and smacked Toronto’s Bismack Biyombo in what the big man called a very private area. Earlier James Jones, a gentle soul off the court, smacked Patrick Patterson in the face. At least twice, LeBron James had already flopped.
The Cavaliers didn’t have to resort to that kind of basketball in the first two games. But in Game 3, things changed.
“Before yesterday’s game, we were in a position like, let’s make them look human,” says Raptors forward Luis Scola, the day after a 99-84 win that followed two blowout losses in Cleveland.