How J.R. Smith and the Cavs are slowing down the Splash Bros.

CLEVELAND - Entering Game 3, the narrative surrounding the quiet NBA finals performances of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson centered around the Golden State Warriors' impressive depth.

In the aftermath of Wednesday's humiliating 120-90 loss in Cleveland, in which the Splash Brothers combined for 29 points on 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) shooting, the duo's struggles have become a legitimate concern.

"Unfortunately, it was all me," Curry said following Game 3 when asked how much of his struggles were tied to the Cavaliers' defense. However, Curry did admit the Cavs defended aggressively.

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That aggressive defense, particularly as it pertains to Curry and Thompson, has become the biggest takeaway from Game 3, if not the series as a whole.

"With two great shooters like that, you want to limit their shots as much as possible and just try to take the ball out of their hands," said Matthew Dellavedova in Cleveland's locker room. "Once they've got the ball or they're coming off a screen, it's pretty tough to stop them."

The Cavs appeared to switch less on Wednesday while defending the pick-and-roll, but they continued to pressure and trap the Splash Bros., often forcing the ball out of the hands of Golden State's top scorers, just as Dellavedova prescribed.

That's become a common theme in The Finals, especially when comparing the last three contests to the regular season and the first three rounds of the playoffs.

The unlikely defensive hero helping to slow Thompson is 3-point gunner J.R. Smith, who even said in his post-game media conference - to an understandably stunned gathering - that he hopes to dictate games on the defensive end rather than offensively.

"Trying to stop Klay as much as I can," Smith said. "Try not to let him catch the ball."

If you're snickering at the thought of Smith talking about defense in a serious tone, it's worth mentioning he's been an improved defender this year, and LeBron James went as far as calling Smith a two-way player following Game 3, in which he was a game-high plus-33.

"Defensively, all year long that's what he's been doing. The offense comes very free to him and very easy, but the defensive side is what's making him so great," James said of Smith. "He hit some huge shots for us tonight, obviously, but I think it all started on the defensive end where he was much better than he was offensively."

Kyrie Irving joined the chorus praising Smith's coverage of Thompson, while adding that he's trying to pick up Curry as high as possible and the Cavs' big men have done a great job getting up on them.

It really is a marvel to watch how the Cavs are limiting two of the game's best scorers and two of the all-time trigger-happy marksmen, as it's not like Curry and Thompson are the type to shy away from shooting even if they've yet to find their stroke. They've just been given very little room or opportunity to do so.

"They're being very aggressive with them out on the perimeter," Steve Kerr said only moments after Wednesday's final buzzer. "It didn't matter in the first two games because other guys scored and we got lots of good offensive possessions. Tonight, obviously, it did matter."

The Warriors are a historic team for a reason, and Curry and Thompson aren't the be-all end-all, but the Dubs being able to be as dominant as they were in Games 1 and 2 without the usual output from those two is likely the exception, not the norm.

Sure, Golden State still controls the series, and Cleveland still faces the monumental task of beating the Warriors three more times in four tries, but the Warriors probably can't close out a team as good as LeBron's Cavs while Curry and Thompson remain shackled.

So far, no team has figured out how to successfully do that like these Cavs suddenly have.