All three of Cleveland’s Big Three are playing so confidently through their First Round series against Detroit that you forget that only one year ago, two-thirds of the power-troika had never been to the postseason before.
Their baptism came last year against the scrappy young Celtics as the Wine and Gold returned to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Cleveland took the first two games at The Q before returning to Boston – where their most recent title run ended in 2010.
After fighting through an early Celtics’ flurry – and an equally-combative crowd early at the TD Garden – the Wine and Gold closed the first half on a 12-3 run and put the game on ice late in the fourth when one member of the Big Three produced the first seminal playoff moment of his already-impressive career.
In the fourth quarter of Game 3, the Cavaliers saw the Celts cut their 11-point fourth quarter lead to just three with 2:45 to play on Evan Turner’s triple. But Kevin Love came to the rescue – canning his fifth triple of the night to put the Wine and Gold back up by six.
With 1:14 to play, Jae Crowder split a pair of free throws to get Boston to within five, 98-93 – but Love answered right back.
With less than 30 seconds to play in regulation, Tristan Thompson grabbed LeBron James’ missed jumper (his fifth offensive board of the game) and got the ball back to James – who fed Love, awaiting beyond the arc in the corner. The three-time All-Star calmly set his feet and splashed home the 26-footer, putting the Cavs up eight, 101-93, and placing Brad Stevens’ squad on the brink of elimination.
As he often does in Beantown, LeBron set the tone for Cleveland – leading everyone with 31 points and 11 boards and four steals – going an even 13--for-26 from the floor, adding four assists and a pair of blocked shots.
Love followed up with 23 points and nine boards – going 8-for-16 from the floor, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
J.R. Smith, who arrived an hour before that morning’s shootaround with LeBron, had easily his best performance of the series – netting eight of his 15 points in the third quarter, splashing home a pair of three-pointers that kept Boston at bay in the third quarter. Smith went 6-for-12 overall, including 3-of-8 from long-distance, to go with five boards, two assists and a pair of steals.
Boston’s Isaiah Thomas – who had his way with Cleveland through the first two contests, averaging 22.0 points and 8.5 assists – was held to just five points and two assists, going just 2-for-9 from the floor.
The Wine and Gold would proceed to complete their sweep of the Celtics three days later – but it came at a steep cost, with Kevin Love dislocating his left shoulder midway through the first period of Game 4 and J.R. Smith earning a two-game suspension after connecting with Crowder while boxing out for a free throw.
The Cavaliers still managed to reach the NBA Finals, but the thought of what they could have done with a healthy Love (and Kyrie) still haunts Clevelanders.
Luckily, the Cavs are right back in this year’s tournament with a healthy roster – complete with an experienced Big Three working in complete synergy as they battle their way back up the mountain.