LeBron James hit a huge shot with 39.2 seconds to go as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 on Sunday to finish off a 4-0 sweep and advance to the Eastern Conference finals, while Kevin Durant matched his career playoff high with 41 points as Oklahoma defeated San Antonio 111-97 to tie their Western Conference semi-final series 2-2.
The Cavaliers finished off the second-round series with four straight wins, just as they did in the opening round against Detroit, and Cleveland’s Big Three are on quite a roll.
James scored 21 points and doled out nine assists, while Kevin Love had 27 points and Kyrie Irving 21 in another dazzling performance.
Photo: AFP
“This is more than I dreamed of,” Irving said. “It is what I genuinely enjoy about basketball, playing with great guys.”
When James returned to Cleveland after four years in Miami, winning the franchise’s first championship was the only goal that mattered. Love was acquired from Minnesota to complete the dynamic trio, but the Cavaliers came up short last season when both Love and Irving went down with injuries in the playoffs.
Now, fully healthy and finally comfortable together after some rocky moments, LeBron and company cruised into the conference finals to meet either Toronto or Miami. The Raptors lead that series 2-1.
“We are in a great rhythm right now,” James said. “We know exactly where we want to be on the floor.”
Love carried Cleveland much of the game, hitting one three-pointer after another as the Hawks continually left him open in the corner. He went cold down the stretch, but still finished eight of 15 from beyond the arc. He made only one two-point basket — with his toe on the stripe.
The Hawks had one last chance to extend the series and put the ball in the hands of Dennis Schroder, who led the team with 21 points. The speedy point guard drove into the lane, but was surrounded by James and Tristan Thompson. Schroder slipped and James tied up the ball, forcing a huge mismatch of a jump ball with 2.8 seconds left.
“We know Atlanta is a tough team and the closeout game is the hardest game,” said Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue, who took over the Cavaliers during the season after David Blatt was fired.
This was a rematch of last year’s conference finals, in which the Hawks were the top seed, but got swept by the Cavaliers. With Cleveland seeded No. 1 this time, the result was the same. The Atlanta Hawks had fourth-quarter leads in three of the four games, but were not strong enough to finish, dropping to 0-12 in the post-season against the Cavs.
Durant went on a scoring spree that was spectacular, even by his lofty standards. The four-time NBA scoring champion had 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, one more than the Spurs, and did it on six-for-six shooting.
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, while Kawhi Leonard had 21 and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.
San Antonio led by 11 early in the second quarter and by four after the third quarter, but Durant took over early in the final quarter.
“They just outplayed us,” Aldridge said. “They made more plays than us. They got to the ball faster. They crashed the boards harder. We took tough shots. We had open shots, too. We did not make shots. They played better than we did down the stretch.”
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