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, tightening the Eastern Conference finals with a 116-86 victory in Game 3 over Boston on Saturday night.
Outplayed during two losses in Boston, the Cavs used a three-day break in the series to regroup and re-grip this 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 postseason.
Any discussion of Cleveland’s demise is premature. Kyle Korver made four of the team’s 17 3-pointers, six players scored in double figures 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 Brian O'Neill Vikings Jersey , and I just happened to be one of the guys on the floor that wanted to fly around as well.”
Game 4 is Monday night before the series returns to Boston.
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 couldn’t 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 previously did it in 2007 and again in 2016 while winning the NBA title, took the first step toward a third comeback.
To return to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year, the Cavs have to win four of five and re-write Boston’s illustrious history. The Celtics are 37-0 when they win the first two games in a series.
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.”
The Cavs needed more from point guard George Hill after two poor performances (8 points, 1 assist) in Boston. Hill responded with a driving layup to start the game and drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Cleveland wasted no time taking control.
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.
Stevens was confident his team would play better on the road than earlier in these playoffs John Ross Jersey , but the Celtics were shaky early, committing four turnovers and shooting 2 of 10 while the Cavs opened a 27-11 lead.
James said earlier Saturday the fact he has twice rallied from 2-0 deficits in the postseason offered no relief.
”There’s nothing about the playoffs that’s comfortable until you either win it all or you lose and go into the summer,” he said.
Summer might not be as close as it once seemed.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Seeking to become the sixth No. 2 seed to win the East in eight years. Boston was a No. 4 seed when it advanced to the finals in 2010. … Fell to 3-8 in playoff games in Cleveland, the most by a Cavs opponent at the Q. … Stevens was relieved to learn that Boston legend Bill Russell was recovering after a hospital stay brought on by dehydration. Russell won 11 NBA titles with the Celtics. ”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.”
Cavaliers: James needs six field goals to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2,356) for the most in postseason history. … Cleveland has won six straight playoff games at home. … Improved to 14-6 vs. Boston in the playoffs.
DOWN BROWN
The Cavs focused their defense on slowing Brown, and it worked. He was 3 of 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.”
DOWN TIME
The long layoff between Games 2 and 3 revived the Cavs.
”It was three days of stewing on Game 2 Shaquem Griffin Seahawks Jersey ,” Korver said. ”It probably did something good in us. It’s frustrating to have to wait that long for another game. We were able to put in some new things on offense, too.”
ROAD KILL
Before the game, Stevens downplayed his team’s road issues, saying there was a ”small sample size.”
It got a little bigger, and a little more troubling. Still, he won’t focus on Boston’s road woes.
”In my 11 years as a head coach, I probably haven’t talked about road and home five times with our team,” he said. ”It’s about how you play between the lines. Because I think if you start talking about that, then you find excuses in both places. We can’t play like we played tonight no matter where we played. If we would have played in Boston like that, we The Atlanta Falcons will open their mandatory minicamp without Julio Jones, one of their most important playmakers.
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said the team was informed Monday that Jones will not be present when the three-day minicamp opens on Tuesday.
Jones, under contract through 2020 Will Hernandez Jersey , apparently is seeking a new deal as he has fallen behind other top NFL receivers in average earnings.
”We have been in contact with Julio and his representation,” Dimitroff said in a statement released by the team.
”We will not discuss those conversations publicly except to say we feel they have been productive and constructive. We understand the concerns and thoughts from their perspective. Although not ideal, Julio informed us today he would not be attending minicamp.
”We have much respect for him and what he means to our team, our city and our fans.”
Jones’ absence is a big surprise. Before Monday, coach Dan Quinn and others had said they were confident Jones would attend the minicamp despite missing the voluntary offseason program.
Jones, 29, still has three seasons remaining on his five-year, $71.3 million deal with $47 million in guaranteed money. He is due to earn $10.5 million this season, $12.5 million in 2019 and $11.4 million in 2020.
Jones’ salary cap figure of $12.9 million for 2018 ranks seventh among NFL receivers, well behind recent deals signed by Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans ($18.252 million in 2018) and Cleveland’s Jarvis Landry ($15.5 million).
Jones’ holdout comes in a summer the Falcons made quarterback Matt Ryan the NFL’s highest-paid player. Ryan’s new deal could average out to as much as $30 million annually over five seasons.
Jones’ value to the team is unquestioned. He earned his fourth straight Pro Bowl berth, and fifth overall, in 2017 Terrell Edmunds Jersey , when he had 88 catches for 1,444 yards. It was his fourth straight season with at least 80 receptions and 1,400 receiving yards.
Jones had only three touchdown catches last season as the Falcons’ offense failed to match the standards set in 2016, when Atlanta led the league in scoring and advanced to the Super Bowl.
Jones’ absence in the minicamp will leave more opportunity for another former Alabama receiver, rookie Calvin Ridley, to have more work with Ryan. Ridley, a first-round pick, is expected to earn a role behind Jones and Mohamed Sanu on the depth chart.
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