Thursday night in Boston, the Cleveland Cavaliers flexed their muscle and put to bed any notions that the Celtics would make a series of the Eastern Conference Finals by blowing out Boston 135-102. Lebron James scored 35 points in just 34 minutes of playing time and Kyrie Irving added 24 points playing three minutes less than James.
The Celtics playing without their leading scorer Isaiah Thomas, were no match for the Cavs. Cleveland stepped up a notch on offense opening the game with a 21 point lead to put this game and series away. Celtics Guard Avery Bradley did all he could to help, leading the Bostons’ attack with 23 points which were simply not enough.
The Cavaliers showed their strength and intentions right from the beginning scoring 43 points in the first quarter. By halftime, the score was 75 to 57. Cleveland was running on all cylinders getting help off the bench as guard Deron Williams got involved in the action dropping in 14 points in only 17 minutes of playing time.The win wraps up the third consecutive Eastern Conference title for Cleveland setting up the much anticipated NBA final clash with the Golden State Warriors.
“Cavs/Warriors III” will be an exciting series. Last season Lebron put the Cavaliers on his shoulders and helped Cleveland overcome a two-game deficit to beat the Warriors 4 games to 3 for the title. The year before that Steph Curry led the Warriors to a four game to two series win.
This year Curry is again leading the Warriors but he has help in Kevin Durant, not to mention Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. KD made the move from Oklahoma City to Golden State for an opportunity to play in the NBA Finals. He may be the X-Factor in this series. That combined with the extra bit of rest Golden State has been able to enjoy may give them the edge. But I would not count on it, Lebron and Kyrie have been playing at another level. Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Deron Williams have not been playing bad either, so this one may go all seven games. I Think this year’s NBA Final will be so good it could actually come down to the last shot in game seven to decide the champion. The action tips off June 1, Get your popcorn ready.
Trevin A Jones
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