From the moment the regular season tipped off in late October, it seemed like the Cavaliers and Warriors were on collision course for Round 3. And after taking care of the Celtics in five games – including Thursday’s blowout in Boston – both squads are once again ready to rumble.
The Wine and Gold advanced the NBA Finals for the third straight season – where they’ll square off again with Golden State – making quick work of the shorthanded Celtics in Game 5, pulling away early for the 135-102 decision.
With the win, the Cavaliers closed the Eastern Conference portion of their bracket with a 12-1 mark, going undefeated in seven tries on the road. They’ll be going up against a Warriors team that comes into the Finals unblemished.
After hitting a speedbump against the Celtics on Sunday night – dropping their only contest of the postseason – the Cavaliers were razor sharp over the last two games of the series – shooting just under 60 percent in Game 4 and 57 percent in Thursday’s drubbing at the TD Garden.
Leaving nothing to doubt, Cleveland jumped on Boston early – taking a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the affair and not looking back the rest of the way. The Celtics never led on Thursday night; the Cavaliers led by as many as 39 in the fourth quarter.
LeBron James continued his historic postseason run in Game 5 – leading everyone with 35 points en route to passing Michael Jordan as the leading scorer in NBA Playoff history.
On the night, the four-time MVP finished 13-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long-range, adding eight boards, eight assists, three steals and a blocked shot in just three quarters of work.
”I think the biggest thing for me sitting here today after breaking the all-time scoring record in Playoff history is that I did it just being me,” explained James. “I don’t have to score the ball to make an impact in the basketball game. That was my mindset when I started playing the game. I was like, ‘If I’m not scoring the ball, how can I still make an impact on the game?’ It’s carried me all the way to this point now, and it’s going to carry me for the rest of my career.”
Kyrie Irving followed up his massive 42-point performance in Game 4 with a 24-point performance in the series clincher – going 9-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long-distance, to go with seven helpers and a pair of steals.
”This is one that I can really put in the memory bank and be proud of up until this point, because I finally got to play the majority of the games in the regular season and be challenged every single night,” said Irving. “And then the final three weeks of the season as well as Round One was some of the toughest basketball that I had to play. It’s definitely one for the books for me up to this point.”
Kevin Love doubled-up in each game of the Eastern Conference Finals – tallying 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting, leading both squads with 11 boards and four steals in the win.
On Thursday night, Deron Williams was just the second Cavaliers reserve in the series to tally double-figures, leading the second unit with 14 points – all in the second quarter – going 5-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-3 from deep in just over 17 minutes of work.
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