Cavaliers Escape Celtics in Game 7

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics, 87-79, in Game 7 of the
Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on Sunday. The Cavaliers will advance to
the NBA Finals. Things got off to a strong start for the Celtics (3-4), as the
team scored 26 first-quarter points to take an eight point lead. Cleveland (4-3)
responded with an 8-0 run in the late second quarter to help cut the lead to
just four points by halftime. It was an extremely poor offensive third quarter
that cost Boston the game, as the team finished the third with only 13 points.
The Celtics had their worst shooting performance of the playoffs, going just
7-of-39 from three-point range and shooting 34 percent from the field overall.
Though the team took over the lead again in the fourth quarter, crucial missed
shots from Marcus Morris, Terry Rozier, and Jaylen Brown kept the Celtics from
holding onto the win. LeBron James once again led the Cavaliers with a terrific
performance, scoring 35 points to go with 15 rebounds and nine assists, all team
highs. James also finished with two blocks on the defensive end, including a
highlight-reel swat on Terry Rozier to stop a fast break. Jeff Green added 19
points and eight rebounds in his second start of the playoffs. The Cavaliers as
a whole played relatively well, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and
knocking down nine three-pointers. With the win, Cleveland has now won the
Eastern Conference in each of the last four seasons. For the Celtics, rookie
Jayson Tatum led the way with 24 points on seven rebounds. With the performance,
Tatum joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as one of only two rookies to score 20 points
in 10 or more playoff games. The youngster capped off his impressive run with an
emphatic poster dunk over LeBron James. Ultimately, Tatum’s performance was not
enough to get the job done, though, as his fellow starters Terry Rozier and
Jaylen Brown combined to shoot just 7-of-32 from the floor. Despite committing
only five turnovers, Boston’s poor shooting on open looks led to a dismal 79
point total in the elimination game. Cleveland will play the winner of the
Western Conference Finals between Golden State and Houston, who face Game 7 on
Monday night.