Before taking the floor, LeBron James stood in the hallway with his teammates outside the Cleveland Cavaliers’ locker room and pounded his chest with both hands.
The Celtics got thumped next.
James had 27 points and 12 assists, Kevin Love added 14 rebounds and the Cavaliers looked like a different team on their home court on Saturday, tightening the Eastern Conference Finals with a 116-86 victory in Game 3 over Boston.
Photo: AFP
Outplayed during two losses in Boston, the Cavs used a three-day break to regroup and regrip the series. With James leading the way, they built a 19-point lead in the first quarter, pushed it to 30 in the second half and overpowered the Celtics, who fell to 1-5 on the road in the post-season.
Any discussion of Cleveland’s demise is premature. Kyle Korver made four of the team’s 17 three-pointers, six players scored in the double digits and the Cavs, who have spent the season seeking chemistry and cohesion, were connected defensively.
“Even when things broke down, we just covered for one another,” James said. “We made them make extra passes. We made them make extra dribbles. We were flying around and I just happened to be one of the guys on the floor that wanted to fly around as well.”
Jaylen Brown was in foul trouble all night and scored just 10 for the Celtics after averaging 23 in the first two games. Jayson Tatum scored 18 and Terry Rozier 13 for Boston, which could not match Cleveland in any aspect.
“They took it to us,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Point blank: They just outplayed us.”
Only 19 of a possible 300 teams have ever overcome a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs. James and the Cavs, who did it in 2007 and again in 2016 while winning the title, took the first step toward a third comeback.
The Cavs came in wanting to play faster and be more physical with the younger Celtics, who were the aggressors in Games 1 and 2.
Not this time.
“The toughest team sets the rules,” Rozier said. “They came out aggressive from the jump and never looked back. We’ve got to play aggressive from the rip. Tonight, we were all over the place, playing too fast and doing things we didn’t want to do.”
George Hill finished with 13, J.R. Smith 11 — they were outscored 41-3 in Game 2 — and Cleveland’s supporting cast played so well that James was only on the floor for 37 minutes.
The Cavs focused their defense on slowing Brown, and it worked. He was 3-8 from the floor and never found his flow after getting two early fouls.
“They were denying me the ball, and when I did get it, it was in positions that I’m not comfortable in,” he said. “Give credit to Cleveland. They were physical and we settled for jumpers too much.”
Meanwhile, Stevens was relieved to learn that Boston legend Bill Russell was recovering after a hospital stay brought on by dehydration.
“He’s the ultimate basketball winner,” Stevens said. “The way he impacted winning, the unselfishness of a teammate, what he stood for off the floor — everything about him.”
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