LeBron James had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 104-93 victory against the Atlanta Hawks in game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith (5) celebrates a three-pointer with Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson (not pictured) during the second quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs made 25 of 44 three-pointers, breaking the National Basketball Association record of 23 reached most recently by Houston against Golden State on February 5, 2013.
“It is awesome the way we shot the ball”, Cavaliers guard JR Smith, who started the avalanche with four three-pointers in the first quarter and ended with seven for the game, said.
The Cavs may very well sweep the Hawks for a second straight year, but there was a feeling within the coaching staff late Wednesday night that they’re going to have to spend some more time on edge to do it. The respect within the team for Mike Budenholzer is boundless, and they know he’ll throw something at them in Games 3 and 4 in Atlanta that will make them uncomfortable.
“J.R.is the only guy on the team that has the ultimate green light”, James said.
But James was quick to point out the Cavs are not all about the long bomb. On April 6, 2014, Smith scored 32 points in a nationally televised loss to James and the Miami Heat.
“When they put those shots down, I don’t know if anyone can beat them, to be honest”, said Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, one of the game’s deadliest shooters. Tristan Thompson tops in blocks with 1.0 per game.
They limited the Hawks to under 40 per cent shooting from the floor in what was a fantastic performance, with LeBron James making five steals.
The well-regarded Hawks defense did not live up to expectations tonight, allowing the Cavs to take a 74-38 lead at the half while shooting 66 percent from three and 50 percent from inside the arc. The 25 team three-point completions from ten players in a game is an National Basketball Association record. James led the Cavs with 27 points in 28 minutes, while Irving had 19 and finished 4 of 5 from three.
“When he’s making shots, it’s contagious”, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. At one point, they were leading by 36 points – and continued to hustle as if things were still up for grabs. Kyrie Irving added 21 points while Kevin Love scored 17 points to complete the dominance of the Cavs. In the first half, they hit on 18-of-27 from long-range, also establishing a new playoff record for a single half. “We just got to continue to play through it and got to continue to keep attacking and, hopefully, we’ll get those calls”.
Less than a minute later, Smith knocked down his third three-pointer of the quarter.
Kevin Love wasn’t slowed from injuring his right shoulder in Game 1 and finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for the Cavs. He did not play in the fourth quarter. Instead, they retreat to Atlanta looking to make a last stand in Games 3 and 4 this weekend. The Hawks have so learned from their ways last season. “We have to get better in shoot around on Friday and we have to prepare ourselves to go into a hostile environment and play that game as well”.
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James passed Tim Duncan for fifth place on the career postseason scoring, and when he did there was no hint the Cavs would shoot their way into the record books as well.
