No. 2 to the rescue
Kyrie Irving gets past the Celtics’ Al Horford during the Cavaliers’ 112-99 victory that gives them a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Irving had 42 points.
CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving gritted his teeth, tightened up his left sneaker and hopped to his feet.
The pain didn’t stop him. The Celtics didn’t either.
Irving took over in the second half and finished with 42 points, LeBron James added 34, and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one win of an almost inevitable third date in the Finals with Golden State by rallying to beat Boston 112-99 on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
With James in foul trouble, Irving stayed on the floor despite rolling his left ankle in the third quarter, when he scored 19 points in less than five minutes.
“He put us on his back and carried us,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
The defending NBA champions, who shot 71 percent in the second half to open a 3-1 lead in the series, can wrap up their third straight conference title — and a “three-match” against the Warriors — with a win in Game 5 on Thursday night in Boston.
But if games 3 and 4 are any indication, it won’t be easy.
Fighting to keep their season alive, the Celtics aren’t giving an inch despite playing without AllStar guard Isaiah Thomas, who may need surgery for a hip injury.
The Cavs, meanwhile, wouldn’t be on the cusp of the Finals without Irving.
With Cleveland in jeopardy of dropping its second game in a row after James followed an 11-point Game 3 by picking up four firsthalf fouls, Irving put on a breathtaking one-man show in the third quarter with 19 points.
“Coming out of halftime, I just wanted to be aggressive, lead my guys and leave it all out there on the floor,” Irving said.
When the horn sounded to end the third, Cleveland’s players poured off the bench to greet him.
They had to be careful not to knock him off his feet after Irving had put a scare through the frenzied Quicken Loans Arena crowd moments earlier when he stepped on the foot of Boston’s Terry Rozier. Irving stayed on the floor for several seconds before sitting up and retying his sneaker.
Nothing was keeping him out.