Cleveland Cavaliers took a major step towards the title for the NBA 2014-15 season after gaining a 2-1 lead in the series over Golden State Warriors. The two teams went into the game three on Tuesday night level after having won a piece. A 96-91 victory has helped them secured a lead in the series.

The NBA Championship odds, though, continue to back Golden State Warriors – albeit at a slightly lower 4/5 – to win the title. The odds of Cleveland winning the title are now shortened as they are backed at evens. Undoubtedly, LeBron James will grab all the headlines but the victory also gave an unsung hero time in the limelight.

Matthew Dellavedova has been a huge reason behind the comeback in the Championship series. The team’s backcourt safety valve and point guard helped preserve the advantage given by James in the second game by producing an immense defensive display to shut out reigning MVP Stephen Curry. The 27-year-old managed a shot rate of 0-for-8 in the second game, as he was largely held back by Dellavedova. In the third game of the series, Dellavedova also contributed at the other end by chipping in with 20 points.

His immense display earned him the praise from LeBron James himself. James is on course to being named as a champion for the third time in his career, but he reserved a number of words for Dellavedova. The latter does not get mentioned a lot in the press, but James said that the work he does for the team is immense and that he remains a huge player for the team. For his part, James came up with another 40 point outing. This is his second such tally in the three games so far and he can be backed to go further in the coming matches.

An amazing statistic revealed that James and Dellavedova had played a part in 78 of the 96 points scored by Cleveland Cavaliers on the night. Even though Cavaliers head coach David Blatt is without a number of injured players at the moment, it is clear that he can rely upon James and Dellavedova to deliver the goods even if the rest of the team does not turn up. Blatt also had a word of praise for his defensive star, Dellavedova. The coach believes that the courage shown by the 24-year-old has been second to none while also lauding the gritty work.

A testament to the hard work done by Dellavedova came with the news that the defensive star had to be treated for cramps after the end of the game.

If Cleveland Cavaliers largely relied upon the duo of Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving to assist LeBron James in the run-up to the play-offs, they are being carried over the finishing line by Dellavedova and the ever brilliant King James. It would be fair to say that not many would have predicted that the 24-year-old will be playing such a crucial role in the team at a crucial stage in the season. After all, he had struggled to make much of an impact in the first few months. In 67 appearances, Dellavedova managed to get into double figures for points scored only nine times.

After a poor showing in the game one, it looked like more of the same for Dellavedova before his surprise form. Cleveland have largely relied upon the brilliance of the defence in order to see them through. The offence still looks weak and they are completely relying upon James to get them through. Still, they cannot be better placed to have a crack at the Championship. Betfair backs Cleveland at 6/5 for a win in the fourth game of the series. Golden State must need a win in order to stay in contention and they are backed at a close 5/7.