Leprechauns are imaginary. Celtic pride is very real.
Avery Bradley’s three-pointer danced on the rim and dropped with less than a second left on Sunday as Boston, blown out in the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals and playing without star Isaiah Thomas, stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-108 in Game 3 to end the champions’ 13-game post-season winning streak.
Bradley’s shot from the left wing — off a play designed by coach Brad Stevens — bounced on the rim four times before going down. It capped a furious, focused comeback by the Celtics, who trailed by 21 points in the third quarter, before rallying to tighten up a series that appeared to be over.
Photo: Rick Osentoski-USA Today
“We have guys who have chips on their shoulders,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said. “We knew that Friday [Game 2] was a disaster. It wasn’t worth all four. It was worth one. So we got back together.”
Marcus Smart, who started in place of Thomas, made seven three-pointers and scored 27 points, while Bradley had 20 for the Celtics, who were given little chance after losing by 44 points in Game 2 and then losing Thomas for the rest of the post-season because of a hip injury.
“Everybody had to step up their game tonight, especially with one of our brothers down,” Smart said. “Our love and support goes out to Isaiah. We wish he could be here, but we understand. We just kept fighting. Everybody did their part.”
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and Kevin Love had 28 for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The reigning NBA champions dropped to 10-1 in the post-season with their first loss since Game 4 of last year’s NBA Finals.
Game 4 is today in Cleveland.
LeBron James had one of the worst games of his post-season career, finishing with 11 points and six turnovers. On his way to the post-game news conference, the superstar got into an exchange with a fan, who heckled him about his rough night.
“I didn’t have it,” James said. “You let a team like that grab momentum you almost knew a shot like that was going in.”
Despite James’ struggles, the Cavs led 77-56 in the third quarter after making 14 three-pointers in the first half, but Cleveland got complacent, Smart got hot and the Celtics, who arrived at the Quicken Loans Arena without Thomas and looking somewhat defeated, never gave up.
“We decided were going to go out and play hard, swinging.” Bradley said.
“We never counted ourselves out,” he said.
For Cleveland, the loss was a wake-up call on their march toward a possible third straight NBA Finals and a seemingly inevitable rematch with the Golden State Warriors.
“I’m kind of glad it happened the way it did,” James said. “We have to play a lot better. I feel some adversity is part of the post-season. If it’s going to happen, let it happen now. Let’s regroup and get back to playing desperate basketball, which they did tonight. We’ve got to be a lot better for sure.”
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