The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of reaching the NBA Finals after a 114-111 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night. The Cavaliers now the lead the series, 3-0, and are one win away from completing a sweep of the No. 1 seed.
Cavaliers vs. Hawks 2015 final score: 3 things we learned in Cleveland’s huge overtime win
LeBron and the Cavaliers once again proved too much for the Hawks in Game 3 of the East Finals.
LeBron James offered up another classic performance in Game 3, weathering poor shooting early and an apparent injury late to finish with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. His final two buckets were the biggest, a clutch three-pointer from the corner that gave Cleveland the lead for good with 36 seconds left in OT and a layup to extend the advantage to three. As time expired, LeBron fell to the floor in exhaustion after a superlative effort.
James missed his first 10 shots of the game despite making contributions elsewhere, but Atlanta couldn't put together a sizable lead despite his struggles. The shooting of Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith kept the Cavaliers in the game early, then James found his scoring groove to put the Hawks on the ropes.
The game really turned late in the first half when the Hawks lost big man Al Horford, who was ejected for throwing an elbow at Dellavedova after the two got tangled up during a loose ball. Referees ruled the play a flagrant two and tossed Horford from the game, leaving Atlanta without another key player in the second half of a must-win playoff game. For a team that already lost Kyle Korver to injury two days prior, a second half and overtime without Horford were too much to overcome.
The Hawks wouldn't give up, rallying shorthanded to nearly take the game. Atlanta had a chance to win in the last moments of regulation, setting up Jeff Teague for an isolation as the clock wound down, but he missed an open look from three as time expired to send things to overtime. he team had several chances towards the end of OT, but couldn't sink those.
The Hawks got a great effort from Paul Millsap, who recorded 22 points on 5-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds, but Atlanta was already struggling on the boards without Horford. In the end, the Cavaliers had 19 offensive rebounds Sunday night to Atlanta's six.
Now Cleveland will have a chance to go for the sweep when the two teams meet again for Game 4 at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in an NBA playoff series, but the Hawks will try to be the first.
Here are three things we learned from the Cavaliers’ exciting win:
1. LeBron can really switch it on
At a certain point, you started to wonder, "Will LeBron put back on the headband?" James was so cold from the field that it seemed like he might do anything to change the tide before the Hawks started pulling away. Instead, James simply worked through his issues before finishing up with a brilliant 37-18-13 performance. We saw LeBron at his best (throwing down thunderous dunks) and at his worst (missing open threes and committing sloppy turnovers), but the final result was still a performance worthy of admiration. He was incredible late and put the team on his back by taking a career-high 37 shots even after missing his first 10. The Cavaliers needed a superstar performance to carry them with Kyrie Irving sidelined, and James didn't let a few minutes of poor play prevent that from happening.
2. Al Horford's ejection changed the game
The Hawks had largely been carried by their All-Star center through the first 23 minutes of action, making what happened in the final moments of the first half shocking. Horford’s huge elbow to Dellavedova ended his night and took away one of Atlanta’s best players.
Horford had been playing great before then, scoring 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes, and his absence after halftime was a major blow to Atlanta. The team had to depend on more minutes from Mike Scott and Mike Muscala, which only magnified Cleveland's advantage on the boards, and Scott made several ugly plays in overtime. The league didn't waste any time explaining the call, announcing why Horford was ejected just minutes after it happened.
3. Kyle Korver was still missed
Even though Korver had gone cold for much of the playoffs, his loss still was felt by the Hawks. The team had to bump up the minutes of Kent Bazemore and Shelvin Mack in Korver's absence, and those two ended up on the court for the team's ugliest stretches in Game 3. James was able to muscle his way into the post for eight offensive rebounds, compared to just two in the first two games combined. Neither Hawk was a disaster -- Mack had 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting, Bazemore filled the box score despite bad shooting -- but wing was already a disadvantage for Atlanta in this series and Korver's absence didn't help one bit.
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