The Cleveland Cavaliers were undoubtedly favored going into their Eastern Conference first round series in the 2016 NBA Playoffs against the Detroit Pistons.
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LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 66 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 3-0 stranglehold lead over the Detroit Pistons with a 101-91 playoff win on Friday. For the home side, it was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who delivered the standout performance of the night, scoring 18 points and was well-supported by Marcus Morris with 16 points.
Irving scored 26 points on 11-for-20 shooting, Love came up with 20 points and 12 rebounds and James added 20 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cavaliers advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they will await the victor of the series between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics that is tied at two games apiece. The Cavaliers will get the victor of the Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics series, and that one is going at least six games after the Celtics beat the Hawks in overtime on Sunday.
The Cavs point guard scored 31 points, but none were bigger than the 3-pointer he sunk to push the lead to four with just 42 seconds left. “That’s a tough team, and they were a great test for us”. Detroit was one of the most balanced teams during the regular season as its starters all scored in double figures in a league-high 27 games. Irving made it an eight-point game with a 3-pointer in the final minute. “He just keeps getting better and better”, Memphis coach Dave Joerger said of Leonard. With Stan Van Gundy at the helm, the Pistons are ready to make a run in the National Basketball Association – but not yet.
Love scored 20 points of his own for the Cavs, and so far this feels like a far cry from last year’s playoffs, when injuries to Irving and Love forced James to carry Cleveland in its NBA Finals loss to Golden State.
Cleveland took an 81-78 lead into the fourth quarter after Irving hit a shot from half-court just before the buzzer sounded to end the third. We fought hard. It’s a different feeling when you come into the locker room and know you gave your all out there on the floor, but still it doesn’t fight the feeling that it’s heartbreaking for us. But what was most noteworthy was Coach Tyronn Lue’s stamp was on all four games.
Before the Cavaliers began their series with the Detroit Pistons, LeBron James said a team runs the risk of losing its rhythm if it sweeps and has to sit idle for a few days.
The Pistons and Cavaliers matched each other, basket for basket, over the last five minutes of play, but James finished off the half with a layup in the waning seconds to put Cleveland in front heading into the intermission.
“This postseason is what we have been preparing for”, Irving said. He got it rolling a little bit, but still on scored 13 points.
And still the Pistons could have won any of games 1, 3 and 4 with even a modicum of luck or the occasional good bounce.
Led by Kyrie Irving’s huge third quarter, Cleveland finished off the Pistons.
Zach Randolph led Memphis with 20 points and 11 rebounds on 6-of-21 shooting. “It was a great series, and they tested us”.
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“They played with a lot of heart and a lot of fortitude”, he said.
