The Cleveland Cavaliers rallied late to defeat the host Atlanta Hawks, 121-108, to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Friday at Phillips Arena.
The Hawks had a good first half and looked like they might bounce back from a horrid Game 2, as they entered halftime up by eight. The Hawks held their lead through a competitive third quarter and just needed a stable fourth quarter to get back in the series. However, the Cavaliers turned things up a notch in the fourth, as they held the Hawks scoreless for four minutes while they went on an 11-0 run to take a six-point lead, with four minutes to go. From there, the Cavs held tight and continued to out-score Atlanta down the stretch.
Cleveland had four players score over 20 points, led by Channing Frye, who finished with a game-high and playoff career-high 27 points on incredible 10-13 shooting, including 7-9 from downtown. Meanwhile, the Cavs continued their impressive three-point shooting by hitting 21 of 39 from beyond the arc. LeBron James was close to a triple-double as he finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, along with two steals, in 39 minutes. Kevin Love added 21 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot, in 29 minutes; while Kyrie Irving finished with 24 points, three assists and three steals, in 40 minutes. The Cavs had 20 turnovers in the game but gave themselves enough second chances with 18 offensive rebounds.
Al Horford was the high-point man for Atlanta, with 24 points on solid 11-15 shooting, including 2-4 from deep. Jeff Teague had a good game, finishing with 19 points and 14 assists. Teague did not have a turnover in the game until a costly one late in the fourth, when the Hawks were down by seven. Kyle Korver came off the bench in order for Thabo Sefolosha to add some defense to the starting lineup, but had a good game nonetheless, finishing with 18 points (6-11 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 1-1 FT), three rebounds and one blocked shot, in 32 minutes. Paul Millsap added 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot, in 39 minutes. The Hawks shot 48 percent from the field and 16-34 from long range, but it was not enough to hold off the focused Cavs.
Game 4 will take place in Atlanta on Sunday. The Hawks will need to lay it all on the line to avoid a sweep in front of their home crowd.
