Celtics Top Cavaliers in Game 3, 111-108

The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-108, at Quicken Loans
Arena on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. The Cavaliers
lead the series, 2-1. The old adage of the game being decided on the court and
not on paper usually carries a good deal of weight, but there are scenarios that
test the limits of such a statement. Such was the case heading into Sunday’s
Game 3, as the Celtics (1-2) looked like the proverbial lambs being led to
slaughter coming into Cleveland without their best offensive weapon, and fresh
off having been thoroughly dominated in two games on their home court. It was
therefore not surprising to see the Cavaliers (2-1) jump out to a 66-50 halftime
lead, and extend that advantage to 77-56 as late as the 6:39 mark of the third
quarter. However, Boston went on to outscore the defending champs by a 55-31
margin the remainder of the way, and impressively matched the Cavs shot for shot
as the clock wound down. In the final 45 seconds, it was a pivotal three-pointer
from Al Horford and a near-trey from Jonas Jerebko that helped put the Celtics
in position for a potential win on their final possession. Jerebko inbounded the
ball to Marcus Smart with just under 11 seconds remaining, and the latter
promptly found Avery Bradley, whose subsequent three-point attempt maddeningly
bounced around the rim for a couple of seconds before finding the net with
one-tenth of a second remaining and giving the Celtics the win. Smart led the
way for Boston in Thomas’ absence, posting 27 points, seven assists, five
rebounds, two steals and one block. Bradley poured in 20 points overall and
complemented them with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Horford
contributed 16 points, six assists, two rebounds and one steal. Jae Crowder
contributed a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included three
assists and three steals. Kelly Olynyk played a key role off the bench, leading
the second unit with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. Jerebko supplied
10 points, five rebounds, one assist and one block. Kyrie Irving paced Cleveland
with 29 points, which he supplemented with seven assists, two rebounds and one
steal. Kevin Love turned in a record-setting performance, draining seven
three-pointers on his way to 28 total points, which he complemented with 10
rebounds, three assists and three blocks. The aforementioned performances helped
make up for an uncharacteristically bad night for LeBron James, who posted 11
points on 4-for-13 shooting and added six rebounds, six assists, a steal and a
block, along with six turnovers. J.R. Smith tallied 13 points and eight
rebounds, with all but one of his points coming from behind the arc. The two
teams reconvene in Cleveland on Tuesday night for Game 4.