Cavaliers crush Celtics in Game 3 to pull within 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed control of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals early, building a 19-point lead in the first quarter and cruised to a blowout win over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

The Cavs cut the Celtics’ series lead to 2-1, with a pivotal Game 4 scheduled on Monday night in Cleveland. LeBron James had 27 points on just 12 shots and dished out 12 assists in the win, and the Cavaliers had five others score in double figures.

Kyle Korver was perfect for Cleveland, making all five field goals, including four three-pointers for 14 points in his 20 minutes.

Boston shot just 39% in the loss. Jayston Tatum led the Celtics with 18 points.

More of the same in the third quarter for Cleveland, who led by as many as 26. The Celtics are shooting just 37.5% from the field through three quarters.

LeBron James is up to nine assists, including this nifty dime to Tristan Thompson for the jam.

Who needs the slam dunk contest, when LeBron is throwing down in-game dunks like this?

James has 19 points and six assists and the Cavs head into the break with a huge lead, trying to avoid the death knell of an 3-0 series deficit.

Cleveland came out firing in the opening 12 minutes, nailing 6-of-9 threes and racing to a 19-point advantage at one point. LeBron James was 2-for-2 from distance and scored 12 in the quarter. He also blocked Aron Baynes at the rim to help keep Boston at bay.

George Hill came out firing with five points on four shots in the first five minutes, including a corner three. He also scored the first bucket of the game, too, putting the home team up early.

Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers need more than just LeBron James’ excellence to win Game 3 of their conference finals matchup with the Boston Celtics on Saturday. Even his 42-point triple-double in Game 2 wasn’t enough to beat Boston, and now Cleveland finds itself trailing, 2-0.

The Celtics are the breakout team everyone expected in the regular season, but not like this. Without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, they’re beating The King behind one All-Star and a fleet of over-performing youths. Jaylen Brown was incredible in the team’s last outing, scoring 23 points on 18 shotts, Terry Rozier had 18 points, Jayson Tatum had 11, and Horford chipped in 15 with 10 rebounds. It’s been a complete effort.

Meanwhile, James can’t find enough help. He shot 16-of-29 from the field in Game 2, with 12 assists and 10 rebounds, but aside from Kevin Love’s 22 points and 15 rebounds, nobody showed up. Kyle Korver’s played well, but he’s not the third scorer — nor the primary defender — the Cavs need so badly. James can’t do this alone.

Is someone going to step up? Or are the Cavs going to go down 0-3?

Date: May 19

Where: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN