A 13-point victory for the Cavs in game four did not tell the full story of how close Boston came to tying the series at two games apiece.
The Celtics were fearless out of the gate, leading by as much as 12 towards the end of the first. This trend continued in the second quarter and it would appear that Boston would take complete control after LeBron James picked up his fourth foul with 6:46 left in the second. Beantown pushed their lead to 16 after this and had serious momentum with the Quicken Loans Arena silenced.
Despite all of this, Kyrie Irving would not let Boston take over. Irving responded with 21 of his 42 points in the third quarter that sparked Cleveland’s comeback. He would add four assists and three rebounds in addition to his 42 points (15-22 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 8-9 FT). Irving’s spark allowed LeBron to get back in the groove after struggling for just 11 points in game three. The King finished with 34 points (15-27 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 3-4 FT), five rebounds and six assists.
Kevin Love‘s double-double with 17 points (6-13 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), 17 rebounds, while dishing out five assists in an all-around well-played game.
Boston’s second game without Isaiah Thomas showed how differently they play without him. Their defense frustrated the Cavaliers the entire first half, and had they been able to continue containing Kyrie and LeBron, the Celtics could be headed home for game five with a tied series.
Avery Bradley (19), Jae Crowder (18), Al Horford (16), and Kelly Olynyk (15) all posted double figures in scoring but this was not enough to overcome Cleveland’s big three. Marcus Smart struggled with eight points (1-9 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 5-5 FT) but added six assists.
The series moves to Boston for game five where the Cavs will look to advance to their third straight finals with a win.
Series Schedule and Results
Game 1: Cleveland 117, Boston 104
Game 2: Cleveland 130, Boston 86
Game 3: Boston 111, Cleveland 108
Game 4: Cleveland 112, Boston 99
Game 5 (5/25): Cleveland @ Boston
Game 6 (5/27, if nec.): Boston @ Cleveland
Game 7 (5/29, if nec.): Cleveland @ Boston
