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 The Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one game of advancing in the
Eastern Conference playoffs with a 103-95 win over the Celtics.
The Cavaliers, seeded No. 2 in the East, can complete the expected
four-game sweep of the feisty seventh-seeded Celtics on Sunday and
then advance to meet the winner of the Chicago Bulls-Milwaukee Bucks
series.
TD Garden fans turned out in force for the first home playoff game
in two years and were loud throughout. But the Cavs answered every
call and cruised to their third straight win in the series.
James, booed every time he touched the ball, seemed to dominate
whenever he wanted. Content to pace himself throughout, he turned it
on when he had to, finishing with 31 points, 11 rebounds, four
assists and four steals. He was 13 of 26 from the floor and also
blocked two shots.
Forward Kevin Love had 23 points and nine rebounds, guard J.R. Smith
added 15 points and forward Tristan Thompson had 12 points and seven
rebounds for the Cavs. Guard Kyrie Irving, who scored 56 points in
the two games in Cleveland, had a poor shooting night (3 of 11 from
the floor) and finished with 13 points and six assists.
Guards Evan Turner and Avery Bradley led the Celtics with 19 and 18
points, respectively. Forward Jae Crowder came off the bench with 16
points and seven boards.
Guard Isaiah Thomas, the spark plug off the Boston bench who had 22
points in each of the first two games and was averaging 21.7 points
in the last eight games, scored only five points and saw little
action in the second half. Thomas finished with 21:08 of playing
time, going 2 of 9 from the floor, 0 of 3 from 3-point range.
The Cavaliers led by nine 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter, but
the Celtics pushed back. The home team ran off nine straight points
to take its first lead at 40-38 midway through the quarter.
The Celtics built their lead to four points but didn't score in the
final 2:24 as Cleveland ran off its 12 straight, the last six by
James.
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In the first quarter, the Celtics intentionally fouled Thompson
three straight times to allow him to shoot free throws. He was 1 of
4 the first two trips and then hit the last two.
In the second quarter, the physical contest got more physical.
Boston forward Jonas Jerebko hammered Irving to the floor and when
Cleveland's Smith stepped in, Smith got the technical foul. Later in
the second quarter, Turner threw James to the floor and received a
Flagrant One after review.
NOTES: Cleveland F LeBron James played his first game at TD Garden
since he had 45 points and 15 rebounds for Miami in Game 6 of the
2012 Eastern Conference finals. That forced a Game 7, won by the
Heat. ... Cleveland coach David Blatt, who hails from nearby
Framingham, said he grew up a Celtics fan listening to legendary
voice Johnny Most on the radio. ... Boston F Jonas Jerebko, who sat
out the first half of Game 2 with a calf issue, reported he was
feeling much better. "Today it feels good," he said. ... Even though
Boston's bench, led by G Isaiah Thomas, outscored its counterpart
51-7 in Game 2, coach Brad Stevens saw no reason to change his
starting lineup but hinted at a different rotation.
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