Puskas: Can the Cavs hold serve tonight?

One of these games in the NBA Finals has to be close, right?

Probably so, but Cavaliers fans will take a carbon copy of Game 3 tonight in Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena.

And why not? The Cavaliers finally came to play after getting embarrassed in the first two games. For the first time in the series, they were the team with an edge. They were aggressive with and without the basketball.

The Cavaliers had no other choice. They had to have Game 3 or this series was over. It was no surprise that LeBron James and the Cavaliers came out hot or that they bounced back from a second-quarter lull.

What was surprising was that the role reversal was so complete. As if a switch was thrown, not only were James and his teammates showing intensity not seen since the Eastern Conference finals, but the Warriors were suddenly playing the role of the detached, disinterested road team.

Golden State jacked up awful shots, turned the ball over and gave Cleveland wide-open looks at the basket from inside and out.

The Cavaliers took advantage of those factors and a raucous crowd that had their back all night and snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Warriors.

Their reward? Another must-win game tonight. The Cavaliers can’t let this series go back to California with Golden State leading 3-1.

Stephen Curry has yet to play a good game in these NBA Finals. He really didn’t do it last year, either. And yet there is a sense that Curry and Klay Thompson can begin to rain game-changing 3-pointers at any time.

The Cavaliers must continue to counter that possibility with a dominating James, a mistake-free Kyrie Irving and contributions from role players like J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson.

They also must decide what to do with Kevin Love if he’s ready to play tonight. Richard Jefferson’s energy on defense provided a spark that had been missing.

The Cavaliers had contested few shots in the first two games, but suddenly made life difficult for Draymond Green and the Splash Brothers.

The Cavaliers owned the boards in Game 3, using a 52-32 rebounding edge to show that rumors of their demise were somewhat exaggerated.

Thompson got into the act with 14 points and 13 boards and Timofey Mozgov, who once seemed as likely as Jim Chones to get on the floor, played six decent minutes and made Thompson pay with a bruising screen.

Tyronn Lue has a tough call to make. Does he stick with the lineup that worked so well in Game 3 or go back to Love, who has been uneven after playing so well in earlier series? When Cleveland’s Big Three is clicking, the Cavs are tough to beat.

The other question is which team will respond best in a tight game?

This might be the biggest game in Cavaliers history and we’re overdue for one that comes down to the final moments.

Will we finally get the Curry-James showdown we’ve been promised?

But Cavs fans would love to see more bricks from the reigning MVP and another blowout.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @EdPuskas_Vindy.