|
 Love obliged on Sunday in Game 4, scoring 27 points, including
eight 3-pointers, in the Cavs' series-clinching 100-99 win over the
Hawks at Philips Arena.
The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the
second straight season and will await the winner of the Toronto
Raptors-Miami Heat series.
Kyrie Irving scored 21 points and had eight assists, and LeBron
James added 21 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and made a big
defensive stand on the Hawks' final possession.
With Cleveland leading 100-99 with 10 seconds to play, James tied up
Atlanta point guard Dennis Schroder on a drive inside the paint and
won the ensuing jump ball to help the Cavs hang on.
Cleveland were sizzling hot from the 3-point line throughout the
series, hitting 16 on Sunday -- 10 in the first half -- and made 62
in the final three games of the series.
 "I think we hit our stride at the right time," Cleveland coach
Tyronn Lue said. "The last three or four weeks of the season we
really started playing good basketball on both ends of the court,
and it's carried over."
Schroder paced a balanced Atlanta offense that had five players
finish in double figures. He hit back-to-back layups late in the
fourth quarter, the second putting the Hawks ahead 97-96 with 1:31
to play.
But he could not put one past James on his last shot.
James scored on a goaltending call and a jumper in the final two
minutes, and Tristan Thompson also had a key block on Schroder late
for the Cavs.
Cleveland can look forward to some rest.
In the other Eastern Conference semi-final, Toronto lead Miami 2-1
in what has been a tight, physical series that has seen both teams
suffer injuries to key players.
The Cavs are unbeaten in the playoffs with James, Irving and Love
all healthy.
"We're in a great rhythm right now," James said. "We know where
everyone is on the floor and exactly where we should be."
Schroder finished with 21 points, and Paul Millsap added 19 for
Atlanta.
Atlanta enjoyed their biggest lead of the series, up 12 in the
second quarter, but it never felt like the Hawks were in control or
would be able to withstand an inevitable challenge from the
Cavaliers.
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That challenge came in the third quarter, and when Love completed a
four-point play with a free throw that followed his eighth
3-pointer. Cleveland led 79-75 and looked poised to put away the
Hawks in the fourth.
Every time Love got open for a 3-pointer, the Philips Arena crowd
gasped in anticipation. Eight times their gasps were followed by
groans.
Budenholzer threw everything at the Cavs, switching up his starting
lineup and intentionally fouling Thompson, but none of the
adjustments produced a win.
"They create a lot of mismatches," Budenholzer said. "We tried to
take away significant parts of their team and their offense, and our
players executed everything we asked of them, I would say, at a very
high level.
"At some point, Kevin Love may be an option that they have to get
to, and he has to make enough shots for four quarters or four games,
whatever it may be. It's really on me at the end of the day. Our
players did everything I asked them to do."
The Hawks head into the offseason knowing they are not any closer to
beating Cleveland, despite making their ninth consecutive playoff
appearance -- the longest active streak in the East.
It is the second straight season Atlanta have been swept out of the
playoffs by James and the Cavaliers.
The question is do they blow up the core of the team that has led
them to multiple playoff series wins the past two seasons? Both
center Al Horford and swingman Kent Bazemore are in contract years.
"Our season just ended, minutes ago," Budenholzer said when asked
about the offseason. "At the appropriate time, we'll sit down, we'll
discuss. I know we feel strongly about our group."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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