Cavs throttle Celtics to win series
Cleveland wins 135-102 to set up 3rd straight Finals vs. Golden State
BOSTON (AP) — LeBron James scored 35 points and passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring leader as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Boston Celtics 135-102 on Thursday night to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title.
Kyrie Irving added 24 points and Kevin Love finished with 15 for the Cavs, who never trailed and led by as many as 39 points in one of their most dominating wins of the series. The Cavs set an NBA record by winning their 13th consecutive series closeout opportunity.
Cleveland’s 4-1 series’ win gives it a 12-1 record this post-season and sets up a third consecutive matchup against Western Conference champion Golden State, the team it beat in the Finals last season to claim the franchise’s first championship. It is the seventh straight trip to the Finals for James. “This team is a crazy team. They just stayed resilient all year, got to the playoffs, and we really stepped our game up,” said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue. “Now we can start focusing on Golden State to get ready. As of tonight, I’ll get started.” Avery Bradley led Boston with 23 points. Led by its Big Three, Cleveland quickly built a 21-point lead in the first quarter, while getting lots of contributions from their teammates.
Love continued to knock down shots from the outside, Irving sliced his way to the rim and James got free for several of his one-handed tomahawk dunks.
It was a very welcomed sight in Irving’s case, after he rolled his left ankle in the third quarter of Cleveland’s Game 4 win. He showed no signs of lingering issues, though, beating several defenders off the dribble and handing out seven assists.
“I thought we played a little too haphazard tonight,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. “Our offensive mistakes led to bad defence, and it just kind of snowballed on us.”