Cleveland comes alive again as the Cavaliers beat the Celtics 4-0 to advance in round one of NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, Lebron and Kyrie lead in scoring for the Cavs in game four, Cavs Kevin Love gets injured, JR Smith faces possible NBA punishment.... By Cleveland Urban News.Com Sportswriter Karl Kimbrough
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| Cleveland Urban News.Com Sportswriter Karl Kimbrough |
The Cavaliers will now be idle until the winner of the Chicago Bulls vs Milwaukee Bucks series is determined. The Bulls currently lead that series three games to one, and might likely play the Cavs for round two of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The winner of that series plays in the Eastern Conference finals, and the winner of that show down, also the best of seven games, will fight against the Western conference winner for the NBA championship.
Cleveland took control of game four almost from the start. They led 17 to eight at the seven minute mark of the first quarter.
LeBron James led the Cavs in scoring with 27 points on Sunday. The Akron, Ohio native also had 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving had a strong game as well with 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 21 points.
Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 21 points.
So the Cavaliers win the series four games to zero, a no doubt sweep, and a credit to rookie head coach David Blatt, and to general manager David Griffin.
Cleveland has come alive, again, both the Cavs, and the city, a major American city. And James, 30, again leads the Cavaliers franchise to the playoffs, a repeat of what he did for the first time since in 2007, losing to the Antonio Spurs.
Cleveland has come alive, again, both the Cavs, and the city, a major American city. And James, 30, again leads the Cavaliers franchise to the playoffs, a repeat of what he did for the first time since in 2007, losing to the Antonio Spurs.
James returned home to his beloved Ohio last year after a stint from 2010 to 2014 with the Miami Heat, in which he brought them two of their three NBA titles. Can he bring that kind of magic to Cleveland this year?
The Cavs dominance of the offensive boards in game four against Boston was virtually no different than the three previous games that brought them the 4-0 sweep over Boston. The Cavs were able to get five of their first seven points off of second chance shots. Going inside to Timofy Mozgov also helped to establish superiority in the paint. Mozgov was three for three in the first quarter with four rebounds, two blocked shots and seven points.
The Cleveland defense kept Boston under control and did not allow a point in transition in the first half. That obviously contributed to the win.
The Cavaliers led by 10, 29-19 at the end of the first quarter of game four. That lead was stretched to 21 in the second quarter, and they led 57-36 at the half.
Boston's intensity picked up the third quarter and the Celtics managed to cut the Cavaliers lead to nine at the end of quarter trailing 70 to 61. The Celtics also cut the Cavaliers led to six in the final two minutes. But their intentional fouls did not pay off down the stretch, particularly since the Cavaliers made their free throws when they counted the most.
Sunday's game four win proved to be costly to Cleveland though. Power forward Keven Love had to leave the game with an injury to his left shoulder at the 5:22 mark of the first quarter. The injury occurred when Love got tangled with Boston forward Kelly Olynyk going for a rebound, an incident that many Cavs fans have said was outright intentional, though Olynyg somehow did not get cited
with a flagrant foul.
After Sunday's game, Love had his arm in sling and reportedly suffered a separated shoulder. The extent of the injury will not be known until an MRI is conducted, a team spokesperson said.
When asked about the play that left him injured, Love told reporters during a press conference after Sunday's game that “it's just to bad he [Olynyk] would go to those lengths.”
Also, the Cavaliers could also lose JR Smith for one game of their next series. Smith was cited with a flagrant foul ejected from the game with 10 min. and 23 seconds left in the third quarter, after swinging his right arm wildly and catching Jae Crowder in the face when the two players jostled for rebounding position. The NBA will review the incident and determine if Smith will receive any further punishment.
Game four was a slug-out, but was well worth the win for the Cavs. The upcoming second round of the playoffs will likely draw the same type of competitive tension, and from a team, more than not the Bulls, that is a no nonsense competitor, and, without question, has more talent, and more height, than the Celtics.(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)
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