For all but 45.3 seconds, you sensed if the crowd got any louder it would indeed blow the roof right off Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, otherwise known as "The Q".
For most of game three, the Cavaliers fans had been goaded into a state of wild hysteria through various messages on the Humongotron - the massive scoreboard that hangs in the middle of the arena - including an affirmation from Muhammad Ali read by Morgan Freeman, spliced with images of LeBron James.
"I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN!" insisted Mr Freeman, and everyone repeated him like they were in a church on Sunday.
No, you don't get that at Campbelltown Sportsground on a Saturday night.
Written off for the past two days after their game-two defeat, the Cavs - led by James (39) and a reborn Kyrie Irving (38) - had given their fans plenty of reason to believe.
You don't write off champions. You don't write off LeBron. You don't ???
But then it happened.
Kyle Korver missed a three-point attempt with less than a minute on the clock and the ball found Kevin Durant. Who else?
He calmly floated down the court, pulled up just before the three-point line, just before James and the fingertips of his outstretched hand, and set himself for the shot ???
Durant has the physique of a cartoon character; rubbery limbs that bend whichever way he wants them to. His shot looks so fluid and effortless and when the ball left his fingers you already knew what the verdict would be.
So did James, whose shoulders hunched immediately.
As the ball swished through the net, it sucked the life, sound and air right out of the arena. The Warriors had the lead and some ashen-faced home supporters started making their way to the exits.
The Warriors won 119-113 to take a 3-0 series lead. No team has ever lost from there in a finals series.
Afterwards, James went through the match-winning Durant shot in graphic fashion.
"Well, I seen him getting ready to pull up, he uses a rhythm dribble to get a good look, and when KD shoots, he falls forward, and I wanted to get a contest," he said. "The last thing I want to do is foul a jump shooter. So I wanted to jump and contest it, but I know he - when he shoots, he kind of leans forward a little bit. So I just stayed there, high hands, contested, and he made it."
Durant recalled it this way: "We know if we get off the board and push, we're a dangerous team. And I seen him [James] backing up and I just wanted to take that shot. Also it was a good time, it was 45 seconds to go, we were down two, if I miss, we could have got another stop. But glad I was able to knock that down. I just tried to stay disciplined in my shot, hold my follow through and it went in."
Or, as his teammate Shaun Livingston, put it: "Big play. Huge. That takes some big balls right there."
Cleveland led 67-61 at half-time and late in the third quarter they really seized control. James dunked, then Irving twice drove to the rim and scored. They again led by six points at the break but the ascendancy was with James and Irving.
When JR Smith hit a three-pointer to take the lead out to 113-107 in the fourth quarter, he put both his hands into imaginary holsters, a sign that the job was almost done.
But it wasn't. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said afterwards he knew the home side would eventually fatigue. So much of the Cavs' work had come from James and Irving, who played 45 minutes each.
"We just kept telling the guys, they're going to get tired," Kerr said. "Stay in front of them. Force them into outside shots, if you can. Fatigue will play a role."
Within minutes of getting back to the Cavs locker room, Smith whipped out his phone and tweeted, "Cavs in 7".
The post was up for only a few minutes before he deleted it, but that was long enough for it to go viral.
Last year, the Cavs created history when they turned around a 3-1 series deficit to win 4-3.
Told most people would consider a comeback this season to be impossible, James shrugged. "Well, of course, but for me personally I don't get involved in what people talk about. That's not ??? I've been out of that department I told you guys for a long time now ??? I'll figure it out within the next 48 hours. Obviously it's a dramatic situation to be in, but it is what it is and we got to get ready for game four."
Silence is Golden for Kerr
Kerr didn't tell his players in the hours before game two that he would be returning from a debilitating back complaint that has sidelined him for the past six weeks - they found out via social media.
"I haven't even said anything to the team," he said at the pre-game media conference. "I didn't send out the group text or anything. I am just going to go in there and they probably already know because they're all on their phones all the time."
So said Draymond Green after the game: "Social media tells you everything nowadays, so before he even came in the locker room it came across my phone."
The inside dope
ESPN senior writer Mike Wade created a stir after game two when he tweeted he could smell marijuana in the Cavs locker room.
"Cavs locker room has a strong reefer aroma to it tonight," he posted. "Hey, it's Cali. You're down 2-0 and it's all about pain control."
In a second tweet, he clarified: "To be clear, I don't know who was imbibing marijuana in the Cavs locker room - media that entered, player, etc. But it wasn't a dead skunk."
Whoever was holding the electric cabbage must have brought it with them into the main media conference soon after because, as Durant and Green answered questions, a distinct smell of dope wafted across the room. Marijuana use is effectively legal in California.
Hayne merch plain and simple
The buzz around Golden State has only slightly dulled the lingering excitement in San Francisco around former 49er Jarryd Hayne.
OK, that's a slight exaggeration but there's a special section for him tucked away in one of the NFL team's official merchandise stores - although his No.38 jumper has sold out.
"Nope, they went long ago!" one of the very excited assistants advised. "But we do have Hayne Plane face washers. They're $4."
And there it was: a small, red face washer featuring Hayne Plane with his arms stretched out, just as he did after scoring for NSW against Queensland in Origin I.
The Plane might be gone - but he's never forgotten.
Jarryd Hayne merchandise in San Francisco. Photo: Andrew Webster
The author is covering the NBA finals as a guest of ESPN. Every game of the NBA finals is live on ESPN. Game four is on Saturday at 11am.
