The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cavs get first playoff loss in Game 3
Bradley’s 3-pointer to end Game 3 stuns crowd at Quicken Loans Arena
So much for the Cavs’ previously perfect postseason.
Erasing a 21-point secondhalf deficit, the Boston Celtics got a 3-pointer from Avery Bradley with less than one second remaining on May 21 to shock the Cavaliers, 111-108, in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavs have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series going into Game 4 on May 23 at The Q.However, Boston’s bold comeback victory in Game 3 ends the Cavs’ 10-game winning streak in these playoffs. It also casts this series in a new light after the Cavs posted lopsided victories in Games 1 and 2 in Boston.
The Celtics prevailed without their starting point guard and leading scorer, Isaiah Thompson, who is finished for the postseason because of a hip injury.
“We have guys in that locker room with chips on their shoulders,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said.
Kyrie Irving finished with a game-high 29 points for the Cavs, who also got 28 points from Kevin Love and 18 points from Tristan Thompson. Thompson and Love grabbed 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively
LeBron James, averaging 35 points per game in the playoffs, was limited to 11 points while missing nine of his 14 fieldgoal attempts. He did not score in the fourth quarter.
“He’s human. He’ll have nights like this,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
James said he had a bad game and the Celtics took advantage of that.
“It was momentum,” James said. “They pushed the tempo and then (Boston guard) Marcus Smart started making 3s. That’s what happens when you give a team a life and they start playing free.”
Smart topped the Celtics with 27 points. He made seven 3-pointers, five of them in the second half.
“You know that in a big moment, that kid will make shots,” Stevens said. “He was terrific. He led us.”
Smart said the Celtics put the 44-point loss to the Cavs in Game 2 behind them coming to Cleveland for Game 3.
“Everybody was counting us out, but we believed in ourselves,” Smart said.
Bradley finished with 20 points. His game-winning shot came out of a timeout. The ball bounced around the rim before catching the front of the iron and falling through.
“It was the play call by Brad Stevens. Al Horford made a nice screen and Marcus (Smart) made a better pass,” Bradley said.
Love and Irving had the hot hands early as the Cavs took a 35-24 lead after the first quarter. Love tallied 15 points in the quarter, making five of eight attempted 3-pointers. Irving was 3-for-3 from behind the arc on his way to scoring 12 points in the quarter.
The Cavs shot 64.7 percent overall from the floor in the first quarter and an eye-opening 69.2 percent from 3-point range, making 9 of 13 attempts.
The Cavs kept on the pressure to start the second quarter, extending their lead to 44-29 at the 8:14 mark on a short jumper by James. Several times the Celtics trimmed the deficit to nine points, but each time the Cavs answered and pushed the lead back to double digits. With just under three minutes remaining in the quarter, Love took a pass from Irving and drained a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to make it 56-40 and force a time out by Boston.
By the end of the quarter, the Cavs had a 66-50 lead. Love scored 22 points in the half as the Cavs shot 14-of22 from 3-point range.
Neither team started that well in the third quarter, but the Cavs managed to keep the Celtics at arm’s length. With just under seven minutes remaining in the quarter, Tristan Thompson grabbed on offensive rebound and cashed in the put-back to stake the Cavs to 77-56 lead.
Boston answered with an 11-2 run to make it 7967. It trimmed the Cavs’ lead to 85-80 with just over one minute remaining on a driving lay-up by Olynyk.
The Cavaliers carried an 87-82 lead into the fourth quarter after being outscored by the Celtics in the third quarter, 32-21.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Celtics cut the lead to 87-85 on a 3-pointer by Jonas Jerebko. They erased the last vestiges of that deficit and pulled even at 9595 at the 5:43 mark on a 3-pointer by Smart.
Boston took a 99-98 lead on a jumper by Olynyk with 4:21 remaining. A free throw by Thompson and a tip-in basket by Love less than a minute later put the Cavs back in front, 101-99.
Later, Irving made a driving lay-up through traffic with 10 seconds remaining to forge a 108-108 tie and set the stage for Bradley’s game-winning shot.