By Chris Sheridan
ESPN Insider

"He fouled me. Right there," James told Delaney.

And, truth be told, James was right. Just before he went up for the final shot, a potential game-tying 3-pointer launched with 4.9 seconds left, Bruce Bowen reached out and shoved him in the back -- a play that looked to the naked eye like Bowen trying to foul James before he could get off a 3, which would have sent him to the line for two shots when the Cavs needed three points.

But what really must be steaming Cavs fans is that James went up for the shot just a split-second after Bowen shoved him, which 90 percent of the time would have been judged a continuation, giving James three shots from the line.

But Delaney never blew his whistle (I'll have a hard time all summer fathoming how James could not get that call in his own building, in the NBA Finals, no less), James' shot rimmed out, and the Spurs walked off with a 75-72 victory Tuesday night that gave them a commanding 3-0 lead in the series.

"Incidental contact. It didn't affect my shot," James said from the podium just a few minutes later before beating a hasty retreat from the arena, making the long walk from the interview area down to his silver sedan in the players' parking lot with an NBA Entertainment camera crew following him the entire way.

"My man looks down," one janitor said to no one in particular after catching a glimpse of James shuffling down the hallway.

Well, of course he looked down after this night of blown opportunities, the Cavs catching the Spurs on a night when Tim Duncan was ordinary, Tony Parker was containable and Manu Ginobili was as close to awful as he'll ever get.

The Cavs won just about every statistical category, producing more than twice as many offensive rebounds, committing fewer turnovers, scoring more points in the paint and blocking more than twice as many shots. But the one area they didn't come out ahead on was shooting percentage, going just 29-for-79 from the field (36.7 percent), including 3-for-19 from 3-point range, to San Antonio's 28-for-68 (41.2 percent).

The sequence that ultimately doomed the Cavs, Delaney's swallowed whistle notwithstanding, began with 5:28 left in the fourth quarter after James hit a free throw to cut the Spurs' lead to 67-63 with 5:28 left. Here's how their next five possessions went: A missed 19-footer by Sasha Pavlovic, a ball lost out of bounds by Anderson Varejao, a missed layup by James, a missed 3-pointer by James and a missed finger roll by James.

That stretch lasted more than 3½ minutes, and do you know what the soon-to-be-champion San Antonio Spurs did offensively over that same stretch? Nothing, nada, zippity-do-dah. They didn't even miss the same number of shots as the Cavs did in that stretch because they were busy committing three of their four fourth-quarter turnovers.

"I know it was ugly," Brent Barry said, "but we're up 3-0 at the end of the day, and that's all that counts in the series."

As ugly as the game was from an offensive standpoint, there was a redeeming quality: For the first time in the three games, the finish was compelling.

After Parker made it a five-point game by making a 3-pointer with one minute left, Pavlovic answered right back with a 3 and Parker missed a runner, giving the Cavs the ball back with 24 seconds remaining. That's when the last big screwup not involving Delaney happened. As James drove the lane and met a double-team, he made a short pass to Varejao and stepped quickly back expecting to receive the ball again so he could try another move.

But Varejao panicked when he should have passed, driving left and spinning right before attempting a half-sidearm, half-underhanded shot that missed terribly. James was visibly upset with his teammate, but the Cavs got another shot when Ginobili went to the foul line with 10.4 seconds left and missed one of two. The Cavs came out of a timeout looking for a quick two and got it from James, cutting their deficit to one, 73-72.

Ginobili then made a pair from the line with 5.5 seconds left, setting the stage for the final possession.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was coy when I pressed him on whether he instructed his team to foul.

"Whatever strategy we're going to use, it's nothing amazing, but I would rather just keep it to ourselves. It might happen again," he said.

But Bowen certainly did foul him, and Delaney didn't blow his whistle. And so it ended, LeBron standing there pleading his case with Delaney as the fans began exiting in stunned silence. They got their money's worth from an excitement standpoint down the stretch, but they didn't get what they came to see -- a win by the Cavaliers in the first NBA Finals game ever held in Cleveland.

If those same fans don't get to see a Cavs' win on Thursday, they'll be forced to endure the indignity of having the visitors celebrate a championship on LeBron's home court. And if you think James looked down after this one ended, it's probably nothing compared to what he'll look like Thursday if this thing comes to an end.

Chris Sheridan covers the NBA for ESPN Insider. To e-mail Chris, click here.

• Finals Dimes: 8 | 10 | 11 | 12

Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

LeBron James launches his final shot that would have tied the game. Instead, Cleveland lost, 75-72.

For Cleveland, Bad News Comes In Threes

CLEVELAND -- I've been pretty harsh on the Cavs this week, so let me say this: They totally outplayed the Spurs on Tuesday night and deserved to win.

The reason they didn't was the NBA's ultimate wild card: The 3-point shot. Both teams attempted 19 shots from downtown, and the ones by the Spurs didn't seem any more open than the ones Cleveland took. If anything, in fact, more of the Spurs' attempts were contested. But unfortunately for the Cavs, San Antonio made 10 of those tries, while Cleveland hit only three.

Part of the reason, of course, is that the Spurs have better shooters. They were one of the league's best 3-point shooting teams during the regular season, ranking third at 38.1 percent, while the Cavs' 35.2 percent mark ranked just 18th.

But that difference shouldn't produce a 21-point disparity from the arc -- the difference between a Cavs romp and a narrow defeat -- as San Antonio made 52.6 percent of their triples to the Cavs' 15.8 percent. Daniel "Boobie" Gibson went 0-for-5, seemingly all on clean looks, after scorching the nets from downtown all postseason. LeBron James also went 0-for-5, including the controversial miss at the end. Meanwhile, the Cavs were shot down by BBs at the other end -- Brent Barry and Bruce Bowen combined to hit 7-of-9.

The shame of it all is that the Cavs outplayed San Antonio in every other facet:

• Take away 3-pointers and San Antonio shot 36.7 percent, to Cleveland's 43.3 percent.

• The Cavs routinely beat the Spurs to loose balls and more than doubled up the Spurs on offensive boards, 15 to 7.

• The Spurs made 14 turnovers to Cleveland's 12.

• The Spurs missed seven of their 16 free-throw attempts, including two misses by the normally steady Tony Parker in the first quarter.

• The Cavs held Spurs super sub Manu Ginobili without a field goal, and also kept Duncan (6-for-17) and Parker (7-for-17) well in check.

Combined, the "Big 3" of the Spurs shot 13-for-41 (31.7 percent) and had only 34 points.

• The Cavs had 19 assists to the Spurs' 15, despite the fact that nearly all the Spurs' 3-point makes were assisted.

So if there's a silver lining for Cleveland tonight, it's that if they play this well again on Thursday night they probably will extend the series. Alas, that's little comfort to Cavs fans at this point, as Cleveland's odds of winning look more remote than ever.

-- John Hollinger in Cleveland