Hawks at Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers look to complete a four-game sweep of the
visiting Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and reach the NBA Finals for the first
time since 2007. LeBron James is doing his part with three straight
30-point outings, with Sunday’s overtime effort marking his 75th such effort in a
playoff game to tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for third place.
James missed his first 10 shots in Game 3 before rebounding for 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists to notch his 12th career postseason triple-double, and the performance came as he played through leg and back woes. “I’m playing through a lot (of pain) but it doesn’t matter,” James said at his postgame press conference. “I don’t want any sympathy, there’s no rest for the weary. I have to make things happen for our team. It’s that simple.” Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving has missed the past two games and has been termed as questionable for Game 4. Point guard Jeff Teague is trying to keep the Hawks afloat with a 30-point outing in Game 3 and a 23-point average in the series.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE HAWKS: Center Al Horford was in the midst of his best game in the series – 14 points in 19 minutes – before being ejected in the final minute of the first half for throwing an elbow at the head of Cleveland guard Matthew Dellavedova. “I did think he went at me but I should have handled it better,” Horford told reporters afterward. “Shouldn’t have gotten caught up in that, and it’s something I’ll definitely learn from.” Atlanta has placed Dellavedova on high-alert status as he was also involved in the Game 2 play in which All-Star shooting guard Kyle Korver was lost for the rest of the season with a sprained right ankle.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS: Dellavedova has played an average of 41 minutes while starting the last two games and his grittiness and ability to knock down 3-point shots presents coach David Blatt with the option of holding out Irving again due to the team’s 3-0 series lead. The former Saint Mary’s standout made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points in Game 3 but the postgame conversation was all about whether or not he is a dirty player, and James took offense to it. “Obviously, I’m a little bit off about it because this is my guy, this is my teammate, and this is a guy that goes out and works his tail off every single night and people are trying to give him a bad rap,” James said in the press conference. “He doesn’t deserve it and I don’t like it.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. James is one victory away from playing in the NBA Finals for the fifth straight season.
2. Atlanta SF Mike Scott has missed all eight of his 3-point attempts in the series.
3. Cleveland SG Iman Shumpert is 8-of-14 from 3-point range over the past two games.