Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) takes a shot as Toronto Raptors forward P.J. Tucker (2), center Jonas Valanciunas (17) and Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) look on during second half National Basketball Association playo. The Cavs will play Boston or Washington in the Eastern Conference Finals. So the only question left in this series is whether LeBron and the Cavaliers can close out the Raptors with a sweep.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James racked up 35 points, nine rebounds, six assists, five 3-pointers, one block, and six turnovers in Sunday's series-clinching win over the Toronto Raptors.
"Our bible begins with transition defense, and if it's not there, then we're just not ready to go", he said.
"It's going to be my ninth time in 14 years", he said of making the conference final.
While James has quickly moved up the all-time stats list and continues to build on his legacy, I'd have to side with NBA TV analyst Derek Harper and his take on Bron's comments.
Joseph did a little of everything in this one, with 20 points, 12 assist and six rebounds while tirelessly chasing would-be Cavs scorers all over the floor.
The Cavaliers opened a 14-point lead on Korver's 3-pointer late in the first half.
"When LeBron is shooting the three-ball he is, at the rate he's shooting it at the average he's shooting it (48.1%), they're hard", Raptors' head coach Dwane Casey said. Despite a nice defensive effort from the Raptors, it wasn't enough to keep them in the series. They limited the Pacers to 102 points when they clinched the sweep in Game 4 and haven't looked back since. The Cavs will be well rested after their short series against the Raptors, and neither the Celtics nor the Wizards have the defense to slow down James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving.
Isaiah Thomas Playing With Temporary Dental Bridge
One strategy the Celtics could consider with Wall is playing off him on the perimeter and hope he shoots from the outside. The Washington Wizards are shooting 32.4 percent from beyond the arc and 79.4 percent from the free throw line .
"I'm not sure where that narrative starts", Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "I'm excited about us getting an opportunity to represent our franchise in the Eastern Conference Finals to go play for the big one".
The Raptors were again without All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry (sprained left ankle), but hung in there until the middle part of the fourth quarter when Irving found another gear. "The only thing that is important is coming out and playing our game".
It was Toronto's first playoff sweep since the opening round against Washington in 2015.
Serge Ibaka was brought in to be the difference but instead has lost his jumper after leading all high usage National Basketball Association big men in three-point percentage after joining the Raptors. He scored 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter when the Cavs really needed them. "They cut the deficit down. but no matter, what we just stayed with it". And, to be fair, though it takes several possessions of hero ball, Irving and LeBron do deliver, sparking their teammates into more movement without the ball and better defense on the other end.
"I think we picked a team to go against that was a buzzsaw", Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
"It feels bad, it was ugly, but it shouldn't diminish the excellent regular season we had", Casey said.
The Cavaliers got their lead up to 16 points in the third quarter before the Raptors chipped away to reduce the lead to seven points on Ibaka's 3-pointer from the corner with 4:44 to play. James converted a three-point play with 15 seconds left in the first to tie it at 28-all after one.
Houston made 22 3-pointers in a blowout win in Game 1, but had struggled from long-range in its two losses. Their three-point shots, whether uncontested or contested, started falling, and can't-miss Korver, who was acquired in January from Atlanta for nights just like this, had four in the second quarter alone.
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