By Jason Lloyd / Akron Beacon Journal
CLEVELAND—LeBron James had a miserable start and a memorable finish. As a result, the Cavaliers are one win away from their second National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals trip in franchise history.
James had 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists after missing his first 10 shots, and the Cavs beat the Atlanta Hawks, 114-111, in overtime on Sunday to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. They will go for the sweep at home on Tuesday night.
It was the Cavs’ second straight game without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, who again sat with tendinitis in his left knee. They haven’t really needed him yet to beat the East’s top seed.
The Hawks had a chance to force a second overtime, but Shelvin Mack missed a pair of three-pointers in the game’s final seconds.
Guard JR Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Matthew Dellavedova had 17 points in place of Irving for the Cavs, whose only other Finals trip was with James in 2007.
The Cavs are rolling; the Hawks are reeling.
Jeff Teague gave the Hawks a 111-109 overtime lead on a stepback three-pointer, but James took the lead right back on a three-pointer. James missed his first shot, but Tristan Thompson grabbed the offensive rebound and gave it back to him in the corner.
The Hawks had a chance to retake the lead, but Teague missed a lay-up with James pursuing him and the Hawks knocked the ball out of bounds with 30 seconds left.
James scored again on a drive to the basket over Paul Millsap with 13 seconds left, setting up the Hawks’ final possession.
The Hawks had a chance to win it in regulation, but Teague missed a clean look at a three-pointer at the buzzer.
Teague had 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and forward Paul Millsap had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Hawks. Kent Bazemore had 14 points and seven rebounds filling in for injured guard Kyle Korver.
Typically mild-mannered Hawks center Al Horford was assessed a flagrant-2 and ejected in the final minute of the first half with the Cavs leading 48-47. Dellavedova and Horford were fighting for rebounding position when Dellavedova stumbled over DeMarre Carroll and fell into Horford’s leg.
Horford responded by dropping an elbow on Dellavedova, the same player who rolled up Korver’s leg in Game Two while diving for a loose ball. As a result, Korver is lost for the postseason.
After a lengthy review, Dellavedova was given a technical and Horford was ejected with 14 points and four rebounds, serving as the Hawks’ best offensive weapon to that point.
When the arena showed the replay on the scoreboard, fans booed before breaking into a chant of “Del-ly!” for the second-year undrafted point guard.
Dellavedova isn’t new to this. He got Bulls forward Taj Gibson ejected from a game in the conference semifinals after Dellavedova pinned Gibson’s leg between his own feet after a pileup on the floor. Gibson kicked Dellavedova trying to get loose and was given a flagrant-2 and also ejected.
Horford’s availability for Tuesday’s potential Game Four closeout remains in doubt. While a suspension seems unlikely, the league reviews all flagrant-2 fouls for potential ejections.
The Hawks stormed through the regular season, finishing as the East’s only 60-win team. But they were pushed to six games in each of their first two series and are now one more loss from getting swept out of the playoffs after beating the Cavs in three-of-four meetings during the regular season.
James shot 0-for-nine in the first quarter, the worst start to a game in his lengthy postseason career, while his 0-for-10 start was his worst in any game. It was just the third time in 171 playoff games he went scoreless in the first quarter.
James didn’t score until stepping to the free-throw line 16 minutes into the game and he didn’t score his first basket until 7:04 remained in the first half. Yet, he responded with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in an incredible third quarter to give the Cavs an 81-76 lead entering the fourth.
James appeared to injure his right knee in the overtime session and initially asked out of the game, but changed his mind and played through it. He hobbled around during game breaks and even had to call a time-out to give himself a chance to sit momentarily.
James passed both Jerry West and Karl Malone to move into sixth place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list. His 12 triple-doubles are second only to Magic Johnson, who retired with 30.
Image credits: AP