Cavaliers sharpen focus after getting pushback
BOSTON— It took 10 games before the Cavaliers finally encountered their first true dose of resistance in the NBA playoffs.
After cruising to a 2-0 Eastern Conference finals lead over the Celtics, the Cavswere humbled at home in a Game 3 loss and needed a 42-point night from Kyrie Irving to battle back from a 16-point hole and win Game 4.
The chatter about an NBA Finals matchup of two teams with unblemished playoff records is gone, but the challenge from the Celtics has sharpened the focus of the defending champs. The Cavaliers are expecting another unflinching effort inGame5 froma Celtics team that isn’t backing down despite facing a 3-1 deficit in the series.
“The closeout game is always the hardest, and Boston is going to make it even harder,” said LeBron James, who rebounded from a playoff-low 11 points in Game 3 to score 34 in Game 4.
James had been saying he felt like the Cavs needed to go through some adversity after a blistering 10-0 start to the postseason.
Theway they respondedTuesday night— particularlyon the defensive end — is a good sign for their prospects of wrapping up their third straight Eastern Conference crown Thursday.
The Celtics shot 47 percent fromthe field and 35 percent fromthe 3-point line in the first half ofGame4 on theirway to building as much as a 16-point lead.
While Irving’s scoring ignited theCavs’ comeback, itwas made possible by their defensive effort over the final 24 minutes. They limited the Celtics to 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from beyond the arc.
“We have to go in with a bunker mentality thatwe had in Game 1 and Game 2, to go out and do what we do, but we have to defend,” James said. “We have to execute offensively. We have to have low turnovers, and we have to try tomake them miss.” AP