Spurs continue to champion their cause

We are all witnesses?

Not to the homage of LeBron James, despite Nike’s best marketing efforts, but more likely the elevation of the San Antonio Spurs as the league’s latest dynasty.

The Spurs hammered away, gradually eroding their opponent Tuesday in a game only a lug could love, and the Cleveland Cavaliers couldn’t prevent their city from sighing, again, at another major sporting event.

It wasn’t quite over after the Spurs’ 75-72 victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena, and yet, it kind of was. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.

The Cavaliers could point to the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, the 1975 New York Islanders and the 2004 Boston Red Sox for motivation, but they’d be better off pointing at themselves, specifically their offense, which stalled again in the series.

Not that the Spurs were that much better, although they staggered slightly less than the Cavaliers after the teams almost set a Finals record for fewest points in a game, barely topping the 145 totaled by Syracuse and Fort Wayne in 1955.

Fittingly, the game ended in controversy after James missed a three-point shot with 1.9 seconds to play that would have tied the score. Spurs forward Bruce Bowen tried to foul James intentionally by slapping at James’ side before he squared up for the shot, which rattled out. James turned immediately to referee Bob Delaney to plead his case.

It didn’t matter. The Spurs are a victory away from their third championship in five years, their fourth since 1999.

The business-like Spurs, predictably, were not exactly popping open Dom Perignon afterward. In fact, the first question fielded by Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was about the last play, and whether he had asked Bowen during a timeout with 5.5 seconds left to intentionally foul James.

“He did make a stab at him, and we talked about it,” Popovich said. “That’s that, I guess.”

James, after cooling down for a few minutes, didn’t complain further about the play. “Incidental contact,” he said. “It didn’t affect my shot. I had a good look at it and I missed.”

Not that Cavaliers fans could be blamed for anything that unfolded in front of them. They flooded the downtown area with a lunch-time rally that drew thousands. Hours later, they flocked to a 40-foot replica of the Larry O’Brien Trophy, circling it in curious pre-game amazement outside the arena.

The city was ready, understandably, having never hosted a Finals game in the Cavaliers’ 37-year existence and having never won a pro championship of any type since the Browns won the 1964 NFL title.

The team’s “Rise Up” slogan was plastered on placards in store fronts and dangled on banners in malls.

It was all for naught, apparently. The Cavaliers are a loss away from tying the Clippers at 37 consecutive years without a championship, the fourth-longest active stretch among NBA franchises.

This loss wasn’t Jordan shooting over Ehlo, or even “The Drive” or “The Fumble.” It was just the Spurs methodically advancing toward the inevitable, quite possibly the third Finals sweep since 1990 (Houston over Orlando in 1995, Lakers over New Jersey in 2002).

If not for Derek Fisher’s heave in 2004 and a seven-game loss to Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals last season, the Spurs might have won, well, let’s not go there.

“We’ve got a great organization,” said Spurs guard Tony Parker, who had a team-high 17 points. “It’s like a little family. I think that’s how you build championship runs, and over the years, it pays off.”

Neither team built much of anything on offense, Parker hitting a floater in the lane at the halftime buzzer to give the Spurs an underwhelming 40-38 lead.

The teams combined for 27 points in the next quarter, the lowest-scoring third quarter in Finals history.

“We set the Western world of offensive basketball back 10 years,” Popovich admitted dryly.

Cleveland went without struggling guard Larry Hughes, who made only one of 10 shots in the series and missed Game 3 because of a sore left foot that had bothered him for weeks. It is unknown if Hughes, averaging 11.3 points in the playoffs, will play in Game 4 on Thursday.

James also faltered, following up his nine-for-21 effort in Game 2 with a nine-for-23 shooting night in Game 3. He had 25 points and increased his three-game turnover total to 17.

James, the focal point of the “We are all witnesses” promotional campaign, had a fleeting request after the game.

“Everybody has to still believe,” he said.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com