Cleveland Cavaliers Finally Wins a Game Over the Boston Celtics; NBA Media Reacts
The Cleveland Cavaliers has just salvaged their postseason, avoiding the dreaded 0–3 gap as they scored an empathic win over the Boston Celtics on Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland last Saturday, May 19. NBA fans and the media were all abuzz as the Eastern Conference Finals roars back to life.
It would have been next to impossible for the Cavaliers to rally back from a three-game deficit, given that of the 130 times the situation has happened in the NBA, no team was able to turn things around past that point. That made Saturday's win all the more sweet for the Cavaliers who took hold of the game from start to finish in a wire to wire victory over the Boston Celtics for Game 3.
At no point in last weekend's game did the Celtics tie the score, never mind gain the lead in Saturday's game in Cleveland. By the end of the first quarter, the Cavs were dominating by 15 points, and it was a gap that would grow to 25 by the end of the game.
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Fans and the media were quick to point out what was different with the Cavs for Game 3, compared to the first two games where they lost to the Celtics by double digits.
"The importance of George Hill to this #Cavs team cannot be understated. An argument can be made that he's the team's second-most important player because it gives the team the second creator it desperately needs," Chris Fedor, NBA reporter for Cleveland pointed out after the game on Twitter.
Lebron James led the team with 27 points, as expected, followed by Kyle Korver who scored 14 points including a perfect four out of four from the three-point line. Hill was not far behind, though, at just 13 points.
It's a production matching the other reliable producer for the Cavs, Kevin Love. Cleveland's defense was also key in this game, as well.
"Boston's 17 points are the fewest the Cavs have allowed in a first quarter this postseason. It's not the fewest the Celtics have scored in a first quarter, however," Jason Lloyd, editor-in-chief for the Athletic, pointed out Cleveland's defensive adjustments.
The Cavs was actually able to hold off the Celtics from going inside the paint this time, cutting down Boston's option to low percentage shots that they hit at under 40 percent. The new defensive intensity clearly caused the Celtics starters no small amount of trouble, as Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe pointed out.
"Really quiet half for Jaylen Brown after picking up two early fouls. 1 for 3, 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers in 11 minutes," he wrote on Twitter.
Game 4 between the Cavs and Celtics stays at Cleveland this time, with tip-off set for Monday, May 21, at 8:30 p.m. EDT as broadcasted on ESPN.
