Cavs flip script on Celts
CLEVELAND — Brad Stevens calls his team’s postseason road problem a “small sample size.”
But it’s growing.
And the early inefficiencies that emerged during the first round in Milwaukee took new shape last night in the person of LeBron James.
The Cleveland star erupted for 27 points and 12 assists as the Cavaliers handed the Celtics their first loss of the Eastern Conference finals, 116-86, which also served as the worst of the postseason for Stevens’ team.
Cleveland cut the Celtics’ lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-1.
The Celtics are also now 1-5 on the road in the playoffs.
They were unable to find an offensive flow for the first time in the series, shot 39.2 percent, including 27.3 percent on 3-point attempts, and were overwhelmed by Cleveland’s corresponding 48.7 percent with 50 percent on 3-pointers.
This time, James had help. J.R. Smith awoke from his scoreless Game 2 slumber to hit three 3-pointers within his 11-point performance, but was also played a true defensive pest on Jayson Tatum, even if the Celtics’ rookie had a team-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Tatum’s teammates had all sorts of trouble finding good shots: Jaylen Brown had a 3-for-8 performance for 10 points, Al Horford took just four shots and scored seven points, Marcus Morris had nine points on 2-for-8, and Marcus Smart missed seven of his nine shots on the way to seven points.
Cleveland opened the fourth quarter with a smothering 8763 lead, courtesy of a 16-4 third quarter run that pushed the Celtics into a 28-point hole. Brown hit a pair of 3-pointers to whittle down the margin before the end of the quarter.
The Celtics, still searching for a good shot, were further undone when Kyle Korver hit his second and third treys of the night in the first minute of the fourth — the second delivered Cleveland’s first 30-point lead (98-68) of the game.
Jordan Clarkson, who was seldom heard from in Games 1 and 2, stepped in with a pair of 3-pointers over the next three minutes, before it was time for Korver to check in with 3-pointer No.4 — this time for a 104-74 lead with seven minutes left.
The Celtics were in familiar frigid conditions in the first half, shooting 40 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from downtown (2-for-9) in a low-volume stretch that had them trailing, 61-41, at the break.
James had just put together a 19-point first half, and overall the Cavs were shooting better from 3-point range (52.9) than their strong overall number (51.2).
Six straight points by Love, followed by a James dunk, pushed the Celtics into a 26-point hole early in the third.
But something worse was in store for the Celtics, and unfolded when the Cavaliers kicked out with a 10-2 run that included Smith’s third 3-pointer and was good for an 81-55 lead with 3:45 left in the quarter.
Four more points from James extended the run to 16-4 and the lead to 85-57.