By RJ Saunders
Cleveland, OH — What was very special about Monday night, was that for now back-to-back games, LeBron James, in the words of the Beatles, was able to “Get a little help from his friends”.
The supporting cast of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second straight game were able to give LeBron a much-needed boost and they combined for 67 points.
The first half was a great one for the Cavs. JR Smith, who had nine points on the night, set the tone early for the Cavaliers with two three pointers. In addition, the Cavs in that first quarter alone shot a very hot 50 percent from downtown, 60 percent from the field and had finished the quarter on a 25-6 run. The Cavaliers would apply pressure all night from the start as well in the first quarter, holding the Celtics to only 26 percent shooting.
Then in the second quarter, Kyle Korver was a great help to the Cavs as well, scoring all of his 14 points in the first half and going 4-of-7 from the field whilealso contributing two threes of his own.
Even when the Celtics tried to make a late fourth quarter push, the Cavs did not stumble nor fall. Even though they did become relaxed at some point, they were able to snap themselves out of it and make plays on both sides of the floor to seal the victory and tie the series.
George Hill also had another solid performance, adding in another 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Kevin Love, who has been the Cavs’ second leading scorer, found himself in foul trouble in the ball game and didn’t have a great shooting performance either. However, he gave the Cavs what he could given the circumstances and added in nine points and 11 rebounds.
And Tristan Thompson gave a great effort with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Points in the paint was a critical aspect in the game as well for the Cavs, as they would pound the ball inside and tally 50 of their 111 points in the paint.
Talk about blowing up the place.
This may be the Cavaliers team that we have been waiting for all year. This Cavs team has been inconsistent since becoming constructed during into the All-Star break. In addition, this team has been up and down all season and has never really found a rhythm.
However, now they have put together two good games and have helped LeBron James tremendously and this could possibly give the Cavs the fuel they need going back into Boston.
LeBron James also made his presence felt as always. He dropped 44 points on 17-of-28 shooting and surpassed the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most made baskets in NBA postseason history. In addition, this was his 25th career playoff game where he has recorded a 40-point performance.
However, James did have seven turnovers out of the 19 turnovers committed by the Cavs in this game and the Celtics were able to score 19 points off of those turnovers. However, James looked comfortable out there when it was time for him to show why he’s the best player in the world.
For Boston, they haven’t been great on the road (1-6) and dropped two games in Cleveland, making this series a best-of-three.
Head coach Brad Stevens and Celtics fans alike have asked a lot out of their young stars and they have delivered as best they could. Jaylen Brown gave Boston 25 points, Jayson Tatum added in 17 and Terry Rozier added in 16 points of his own. However, they were not able to create any sort of momentum in a comeback effort.
The Celtics were down by as many as 19 in this game and had cut it down to as many as seven. However, they didn’t do enough to get themselves over the hill in this game as they found themselves missing layups and being on the wrong end of many calls.
What is scary though however is that in this best-of-three series, the Celtics will possibly play two out of the next three games in TD Garden where they have been dominant in these playoffs. However, you’ve now given Cleveland two games and have given momentum to the role players of this Cavs team, something that they have been looking for these entire playoffs. And with that being said… for possibly the next three games will come down to who “Goons up the place”.
Game 5 will be Wednesday at 8:30 on ESPN. And guess who will be there: LeBron James.
