Cavaliers at Celtics
The Cleveland Cavaliers are two wins away from a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals and appear to have the Boston Celtics on the ropes. The Celtics will try to steal a game in the best-of-seven series when they host the Cavaliers in Game 3 on Thursday.
Boston showed flashes of being able to keep up with No. 2 seed Cleveland in the first two games but has had no answer for LeBron James and Kyrie Irving down the stretch. “I’ve been in this moment before and a lot of our guys haven’t, so I felt like it was important for me to just try to put a staple on the game the best way I know how and that’s by being aggressive,” James told reporters. “I was able to make a few plays to help our team get the win and that’s what’s very important for me – just to be there for my team when they need it.” James and Irving combined to score all of the Cavaliers’ 24 fourth-quarter points in Game 2. The Celtics were 21-20 at home during the regular season, including a 117-78 win over Cleveland on Apr. 12 in which the Cavaliers rested their starters.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT, Fox Sports Ohio (Cleveland), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: One of the big questions heading into the postseason was how Irving and Kevin Love would respond to their first taste of the playoffs. Love is averaging 16 points and eight rebounds in the first two games while Irving followed up a 30-point effort in Game 1 with 26 in Tuesday’s Game 2. “You’re playing with guys that know the game extremely well and have been in this position before,” Irving told reporters. “I think the biggest thing for us is they know what to expect out of me and I know what to expect out of them. Every game we may not shoot well but we understand that the little things are going to make the difference.”
ABOUT THE CELTICS: Boston held a nine-point lead in the second quarter of Game 2 but went into the locker room down 51-50 and never got anything going in the third quarter. “The third quarters killed us both games,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “We’ve been fighting from behind from that point on in both games.” Boston’s only consistent offense has come from reserve guard Isaiah Thomas, who put up 22 points in each of the first two games while totaling 17 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Cavaliers C Timofey Mozgov has eight blocked shots in the series.
2. Boston starting PF Brandon Bass went 0-of-6 from the floor in 15 minutes in Game 2.
3. Cleveland went 24-of-26 from the free-throw line in Game 2 and is 50-of-59 in the series.