Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap knocks Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert on his way to the basket during the second period of Game 4 of the second-round NBA basketball playoff series, Sunda.
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THUNDER 111, SPURS 97: Kevin Durant matched his career playoff high with 41 points, and host Oklahoma City tied the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2. Via ESPN Stats and Info, the Cavs are the first team in National Basketball Association history to make 15 3s in four straight games, and that’s including the regular season and playoffs.
Is it safe to say that anytime the Cleveland Cavaliers square off against the Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs that they will sweep them? Love finished 8-for-15 from 3-point territory. James, who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, inarguably closed out this game and series.
With a 7-inch height advantage on the jump, James easily flicked the ball toward the sideline. James won the jump but the Hawks somehow got the ball.
On Sunday, the Cavs closed out the Hawks, completing their second four-game sweep of the playoffs with a 100-99 win in Atlanta. In the final period of Game 3, the 6-foot-11 forward was on the court with the 6-foot-10 Love for almost the entire quarter, setting up all sorts of matchup issues for the Hawks. This is what LeBron James envisioned when he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs now await the victor of the Toronto-Miami series.
Golden State leads the Trail Blazers 2-1 after Portland’s 120-108 win Saturday night. But Schroder scored twice during a quick 6-0 run to give Atlanta a 97-96 lead with 1:31 remaining.
Wade tends to not line up for the pregame anthem ceremony without making his last shot, usually a bank shot from the right wing – even when only “The Star-Spangled Banner” is to played before home games. Off the inbounds pass, Matthew Dellavadova found James streaking into the lane and Millsap was called for goaltending.
The Hawks had one last chance after James missed a 3-pointer with the clock winding down. The Cavs finished the series at almost 51 percent (77-of-152).
Love carried Cleveland for much of the game, hitting one 3-pointer after another as the Hawks continually left him open in the corner. With Love fizzling near the end of the game, Lebron had to take over, and that he did, scoring a huge shot with 39.2 seconds to go. He made only one 2-point basket – with his toe on the stripe.
The Cavaliers finished off the second-round series with four straight wins, just as they did in the opening round against Detroit, and Cleveland’s Big Three is on quite a roll. James previously swept the first two rounds with the Cavs in 2009.
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Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said he wasn’t surprised that the league decided not to upgrade the foul, which could have resulted in a one-game suspension for Teague. There have been some close calls – a few competitive games with the Pistons, and Sunday’s closeout game against the Hawks that came down to the final minute. A team that had grown into an offensive juggernaut by the end of the 2014-15 regular season had to reinvent itself on the fly after losing Kevin Love in the first round and Kyrie Irving in Game 1 of the Finals.
