James sinks Celtics again
Cavaliers one win away from sweep
LeBron James got to the arena early. When he left, the Cleveland Cavaliers had a chance to put an early end to the series.
James scored 31 points in his first playoff game in Boston since a masterful performance in the 2012 postseason. And Cleveland moved one win away from a sweep in its first playoff series in five years with a 10395 victory Thursday night.
James arrived an hour early at the morning shootaround, accompanied by teammate J.R. Smith. It was a sign of his leadership, according to coach David Blatt.
“He didn’t necessarily have to” after scoring 30 points in Game 2, Blatt said, “but he wanted to be with his teammate.”
Smith had his best game of the series with 15 points.
“We were together [Wednesday] night watching playoff games,” James said. “He said he wanted to go early and I said, ‘Let’s go.’ ”
Cleveland can complete the sweep Sunday in Boston. No NBA team has won a series after trailing, 3-0.
“You want to make sure that we play as well as possible for however many games we have left,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.
Kevin Love added 23 points for Cleveland, none bigger than two 3-pointers after Boston cut the lead to 95-92 on Evan Turner’s 3pointer with 2:45 left. Those shots put Cleveland up, 10193, with 26 seconds left.
“Kevin has been great,” Blatt said. “Maybe he didn’t score as much in the second game as he did tonight, or in the first game, but he’s been engaged at both ends.”
Turner had 19 points and Avery Bradley added 18 for Boston while Isaiah Thomas managed just five points and missed seven of nine shots after scoring 22 in each of the first two games.
“They’re paying him a lot of attention,” Stevens said. “For whatever reason, he was having an off night.”
It was James’ first postseason game in Boston since Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference finals when he was with Miami. He had 45 points and 15 rebounds in that game to avoid elimination. The Heat won Game 7 at home, then beat Oklahoma City for James’ first NBA title.
Thursday, he was booed nearly every time he touched the ball in the first half. The Celtics led, 48-44, before the Cavaliers closed with a 12-0 run for a 56-44 lead.
Other game
Bulls 113, Bucks 106: Derrick Rose scored 34 points, Jimmy Butler added 24 and Chicago won at Milwaukee in double overtime to move within one game of a sweep. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and Khris Middleton added 18 for the Bucks, who went scoreless for more than six minutes between the first and second overtimes.
Note
San Antonio forward Kawhi Leonard was named NBA defensive player of the year.