Tale of Two Halves: Cavs-Celtics Game 3, Behind the Box Score

Boston Celtics 111
Cleveland Cavaliers 108
[Box Score]

To be fair, there was little the Cleveland Cavaliers could do that could top what they did to the Boston Celtics during Game 2. You know it’s a hell of a series when a 16-point halftime lead was the Cavs’ smallest halftime lead of the first three games. To be more fair, however, this game should have never been as close as it was, allowing the Celtics to win with an Avery Bradley three-pointer with 00.1 seconds left on the clock, the Cavs suffering their first loss in this postseason.

Avery Bradley with the game winner..wow #NBAPlayoffspic.twitter.com/y7e3E4NlMT

— #NBA2K4LIFE (@NBA2KGames) May 22, 2017

After racing out to a sizable lead, the Cavs’ shooting went ice cold in the second half, allowing Boston to tie the game with five minutes remaining and take the lead with four. All too often, the Cavs settled for jump shots and found themselves getting lost on pick and rolls on the defensive end. Though the Celtics were without star guard Isaiah Thomas, the backcourt duo of Bradley and Marcus Smart combined for 47 points. A 29 percent three-point shooter, Smart drained seven threes while finding Bradley for the one that mattered most.

“It was a game we should’ve won,” Ty Lue said following the game. “It was a snowball effect. We had turnovers. Smart made seven threes. They moved around freely, then down the stretch they hit a big shot.”

A 26-to-10 run to end the third quarter allowed Boston to carry momentum into the fourth quarter while LeBron James struggled to get going at any stretch in the game, taking just five shots in the first half, shooting 4-of-13 in the game while turning the ball over six times. While he was on the bench for a chunk of Boston’s third quarter run, he settled entirely too much throughout the game, attacking very little just 48 hours after he was able to get to the rim at will.

“Momentum,” said James following the game. “You give a team life and they played so freely. They made play after play and we couldn’t weather the storm.

“I had a tough game—period. I didn’t have it. My teammates did a great job of keeping us in the game, but me personally, I didn’t have it.”

In the 10 minutes in which Smart and Bradley were in the backcourt and Jerebko was in the game, the Celtics outscored the Cavaliers, 40-17

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 22, 2017

Kyrie Irving had a solid game with 29 points and seven assists but struggled against the bigger members of the Boston backcourt. Kevin Love produced a 28 and 10 night, but hit just one shot in the second half. Tristan Thompson was dominant on the glass, hauling in seven offensive rebounds (13 total) to go with 18 points thanks to 12-of-15 shooting at the free throw line, but was one of three Cavs to have a negative plus-minus.

The Cavs will look to get back on track Tuesday night at The Q while their first Game 5 of this season will take place in Boston on Thursday.

14 of 22 — Just two days after fast breaking the Celtics into submission, the Cleveland Cavaliers produced a 66-point first half thanks to draining 14 three pointers (on 22 attempts), seven of which belonged to Kevin Love. Thanks to a ton of fluid ball movement, Love set up shop on the left wing, draining all five of his attempts from that spot in the game’s first 24 minutes, producing an absurd 95.4 eFG%.

2 of 17 — The Cavaliers’ three-point shooting in the second half. The Cavs came out of halftime incredibly sluggish, but neither team looked all that good. But once the Celtics started scoring, things got a bit weird in that the Cavs were up only five after three quarters, much of which occurred with LeBron James on the bench. Not helping matters: They were 2-of-11 from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

1 of 10 — After playing extremely well in Game 2, the trio of Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson and Deron Williams combined to shoot just 10 percent from the field in Game 3. The Boston bench dominated Cleveland’s, outscoring them 32 to 9.

28 — Boston’s assist total compared to just nine turnovers. For comparison purposes, the Cavs had just 21 assists and 15 turnovers.

25 feet — The approximate amount of space between Bradley and J.R. Smith on the final play as he and Iman Shumpert followed the roll man in the sequence. Al Horford set a good screen on Tristan Thompson and it was all Bradley needed to get the shot off. The ball bounced around on the rim for what seemed like an eternity before falling through the net. “We got a slice of humble pie,” Kyrie Irving said following the game. “They came out with nothing to lose… They battled us to the very last minute. We have to hit back.”

49-1 — LeBron James’ record in the postseason in games where his team is up by at least 20. It was 49-0 prior to Sunday night’s game.

1 of 8 — After compiling a host of 30-point nights throughout the postseason, LeBron James hit just one shot in the second half for 11 points. For the game, he shot 2-of-8 on contested shots. The whole thing was just weird.

Last time LeBron James played entire 4th quarter at home and didn't score …

February 24, 2006 against Wizards

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 22, 2017

“We were playing so well,” said James. “You let a team grab momentum like that, you just knew that last shot was going to go in as soon as it left his hand.

“If it was going to happen, let it happen now so we can regroup. We have to be a lot better for sure.”