CLEVELAND. After a lethargic start, the Cleveland Cavaliers escaped an overtime scare from the stubborn Atlanta Hawks, winning 114- 111 on Sunday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Like the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, the Cavs now lead the Eastern Conference Finals, 3-0. This is the first time in NBA playoffs history that both teams on their respective conferences have taken 3-0 leads.
LeBron James terribly struggled both from the paint and beyond the arc, 0-11 on the 1st quarter, while contributing 5 rebounds and 1 assist. But with the Cavaliers' 3- point trio, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and JR Smith, combined 18 points, the Cavs only trailed 24- 21.
The Hawks continued their shooting clinic in the 2nd quarter, led by Al Horford's 14 points. The Cavs didn't take the upperhand until the 2:51 mark of the second period.
Horford was called for a flagrant 2 and was ejected from the game after the video review showed him attempting to elbow Matthew Dellavedova on the face while the two was tangled for a loose ball. Dellavedova also got a technical foul.
With Horford out, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague stepped up, but the Cavaliers, with 3-point shooters surrounding LeBron, surged ahead at 86-81.
LeBron James had another triple double with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists.
The Cavs hope to sweep the Hawks in Game 4 Tuesday night at the Q Arena. At stake for Cleveland is a trip to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007.
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Rex Alba.