4-23-17 at Pacers

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#CavsPacers Game 4 Road Game Watch Party

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Wrap-Up -- LeBron James hadn’t lost a single First Round Playoff game in over four seasons. On Sunday afternoon, he made it five.

Running his personal streak to 21 straight wins in the postseason’s opening round, LeBron and the Cavaliers completed their four-game sweep of the Pacers – taking the 106-102 win on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in a contest that wasn’t exactly a thing of beauty.

One game after completing an historic comeback – erasing Indiana’s 25-point halftime lead to win Game 3 on Thursday night – the Wine and Gold nearly had the tables turned on them on Sunday.

Working with a comfortable 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers looked poised to cruise to the finish line. But the stingy Pacers – a franchise that had never been swept in a seven-game series – rallied from there, going on a 17-4 run to tie the game at 100-apiece on Thaddeus Young’s short jumper with 2:39 to play.

Just over a minute later, Young tipped in a Paul George miss to give the Pacers their first lead, 102-100, since early in the second quarter.

On Cleveland’s next possession, LeBron James calmly pulled up from beyond the arc and splashed home a three-pointer to give the Cavaliers back the lead. The Cavs wouldn’t trail again, but that doesn’t mean the final moments were easy.

With the Wine and Gold up three, 105-102, with 11 seconds to play, J.R. Smith picked Jeff Teague’s pocket in front of the Cavs bench. But instead of being intentionally fouled, tried a behind-the-back pass to a streaking Kyrie Irving. Paul George tipped and stole the pass and was able to attempt a game-tying triple with 1.9 to play.

George’s three-point attempt hit the backboard and caromed into the waiting arms of LeBron, who split the free throws to seal the deal and send the Pacers packing after a tough four-game set.

James led all scorers with 33 points – going 13-for-25 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the stripe, adding 10 boards, four assists, four steals and a pair of blocks.

”You don’t go into a series saying, ‘Let’s sweep,’” asserted James. “You go into the series saying ‘Let’s win Game 1’ and then in Game 2 you say ‘Let’s be better than Game 1’ and same with 3 and 4. And if it happens to go to 5, 6 or 7, you have to make adjustments throughout the course of a series. But every game has different challenges.”

For the series, the four-time MVP averaged 32.8 points, 9.8 boards and 9.0 assists – doubling-up in all four games of the First Round, including Thursday night’s triple-double in Cleveland’s epic Game 3 win.

LBJ and Kyrie combine to score 61 points as the Cavs close out the Pacers.

Kyrie Irving shook out of a mini-funk to notch 16 of his 28 points in the third quarter – going 5-of-9 from the floor and 5-for-5 from the stripe in the period; 10-of-25 and 7-of-7 overall, adding two boards and a team-best three blocks.

”Kyrie was great,” praised Coach Lue. “(The Pacers) were trying to switch a lot of things defensively. With Kyrie being one of the best one-on-one players in this league, he can take advantage of it. I think in that third quarter when we needed someone to step up and score the basketball, he really did that for us.”

Deron Williams, who played the entire fourth quarter of Thursday night’s win, was outstanding in relief again on Sunday – leading Cleveland’s reserves with 14 points, going 4-for-4 from the floor, including both triples he attempted.

“You have to have the right mentality of being aggressive and staying aggressive whether you play 13 minutes like today or 30 minutes,” said Williams after the win. “It was definitely frustrating coming over and losing (in March) and I couldn’t figure out how to get going because in some wins, it looked like we knew what we could do and then we’d lose the next two games.”

Kevin Love struggled from the floor for the second straight game, but he was a beast on the boards – leading both squads with 16 rebounds despite going just 2-for-13 from the field.

Love, LeBron and Tristan Thompson all grabbed double-digit boards for Cleveland – with Thompson adding 11 rebounds, 7 of those off the offensive glass – as the Wine and Gold outrebounded Indiana, 48-42.

The Pacers were led by Lance Stephenson’s 22 points off the bench – with the mercurial swingman going 9-for-15 from the floor to go with six boards and three assists before fouling out late in the affair.

The Cavaliers got the victory without having their best offensive performance. On the afternoon, Cleveland shot just 41 percent from the floor, including 9-of-31 from long-range. After struggling from the line in Game 1, however, the Cavs straightened themselves out in the rest of the series, culminating with Sunday’s 23-for-27 mark.

But as mediocre as they were on the offensive end was as sharp as they were defensively – holding the Pacers to 47 percent shooting, including 10-for-30 from long-distance. Indiana shot just 59 percent (10-17) from the stripe and were held to four fastbreak points on the afternoon.

Turning Point -- In Game 2, it was Kevin Love who took over in the third quarter and gave the Cavaliers a boost after intermission. On Sunday afternoon, it was Kyrie Irving.

Despite a 10-point first quarter, Irving didn’t seem like himself in the first half of Game 4 – and Deron Williams got the lion’s share of minutes in the second period.

But the four-time All-Star went into Uncle Drew mode in the third, propelling Cleveland’s 16-4 run and giving them enough space where they were able to weather a fourth quarter in which they shot 24 percent and scored only 18 points.

By the Numbers – 10 …  times that LeBron James has swept a Playoff opponent in four games.

Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on how LeBron James has been able to win 21 straight First Round matchups …

Up Next -- After completing their third straight First Round sweep, the Wine and Gold will play the waiting game as the Raptors and Bucks duke it. While they await their next foe, they can at least plan the time and place. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semis will take place at The Q on May 1.

cavaliers-complete-sweep-in-indiana

Cavaliers Complete Sweep in Indiana

breaking-down-the-w-april-23-2017

Breaking Down The 'W' - April 23, 2017

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Cavs Host Watch Party for Local Vets

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#CavsPacers Game 4 Photos - April 23, 2017

While thousands of Clevelanders were at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday for the Game 4 Official Road Game Watch Party, presented by Bud Light, the Cavaliers also took the fun and excitement to a smaller, very deserving group.

The Cavs hosted a private watch party for former military personnel currently residing at Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio Veterans Domiciliary at Wade Park.

The Wine &amp; Gold took over the Domiciliary, bringing in giant televisions, decorations and more.  The Cavs also provided lunch for the residents from Old Carolina BBQ before the game and each veteran received their own Cavs swag bag.

The veterans were also greeted and entertained by members of the Cavalier Girls, Scream Team, and Q Spirit Squad.

The Veterans Domiciliary, located on the Wade Park Veterans Affairs Medical Center campus, is a state of the art residential care facility that combines rehabilitative clinical services with supportive case management services for homeless veterans. Based on the therapeutic community model, Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), provides a range of rehabilitative care and support to foster veterans’ functional independence and develop a mutual support network with fellow veterans.

private-game-4-watch-party-for-veterans

Private Game 4 Watch Party for Veterans

clejgabriele

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Instead of looking to even their First Round series at two games apiece after building a 26-point lead in the first half of Game 3, the Pacers will now spend Sunday trying to survive after surrendering the second-biggest comeback in Playoff history.

On Thursday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the Wine and Gold – led by an historic performance by LeBron James – erased Indy’s 25-point halftime lead, chipping away through the third quarter and pulling away late to take the 119-114 win and a decisive 3-0 lead in the series. In that classic comeback, the Cavaliers outscored the Pacers, 70-40, after intermission – shooting 55 percent from the floor and 57 percent from long-range, holding Indiana to 26 percent shooting and committing exactly zero turnovers in the second half.

The Wine and Gold – who’ve gone on to sweep every Playoff series in which they’ve gone up 3-0 – have now dropped the Pacers in six straight games overall and haven’t lost a single First Round matchup since LeBron’s return. Over that span, the Cavaliers have gone 27-4 against Eastern Conference postseason foes – including a 12-3 mark on the road.

It won’t be easy for the Pacers to rebound from Thursday night’s devastating defeat, but they’ve still taken 12 of the previous 15 games over Cleveland in Indy and they’ll try to keep the Cavs from advancing to the Conference Semis for the 11th time in franchise history.

This year’s 2016-17 MVP might not be announced until June, but the announcement of the game’s greatest player took place on Thursday night, when LeBron James had a performance for the ages – even by his standards.

In leading the Cavaliers to the monster comeback, James posted his first triple-double of the Playoffs, 17th of his postseason career – finishing with 41 points on 14-for-27 shooting, including 6-of-12 from long-range, adding a team-best 13 boards, game-high 12 assists, a steal and a block.

Along the way, he passed Kobe Bryant for 3rd on the NBA’s postseason all-time scoring list and Wes Unseld for 7th on the all-time rebounding list.

James – who joins the Big O as the only players in league Playoff history to have multiple 40-point triple-doubles – hasn’t lost a First Round contest since 2012, when it took him five games to knock out J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and the Knicks.

Opposite LeBron – although he’s being cross-checked by numerous Cavs, including J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert – is fellow All-Star Paul George, who looked exasperated at the postgame podium on Thursday night. He’s done everything he can: averaging 32.3 points, 9.3 boards and 7.7 assists per through the first three games.

And on Sunday, George – who’s now 7-15 against LeBron-led teams over his Playoff career – might need to do even more to keep his Pacers from being swept for the first time in franchise history.

The Cavs had gotten solid performances from their reserves through the first two games of the series, but they rode their second unit to the finish line on Thursday night.

Channing Frye just keeps his strong veteran campaign chugging along – netting double-figures for the second time in the series, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter when he went 3-of-4 from the floor, 2-of-3 from long-distance – including a huge triple with under a minute to play to put Cleveland up seven.

Kyle Korver had easily his best game of the series, continuing to pummel the Pacers from beyond the arc – going 4-of-5 from long-distance on Thursday night. The 14-year vet is now shooting an eye-popping 72 percent -- going 18-for-25 in five wins over Indiana as a Cavalier.

Deron Williams had another solid showing on Thursday night, playing the entire fourth quarter and closing out the victory with a pair of free throws. Williams was also one of the major reasons the Wine and Gold didn’t commit a single miscue after intermission in Game 3.

The Pacers main threat off the bench in the series hasn’t been C.J. Miles so far; it’s been Lance Stephenson. Indy’s mercurial swingman got off to a scorching start on Thursday night, but the Cavs cooled him down in the second stanza – holding him to 1-for-7 shooting after hitting three of his first five.

While the Cavaliers were still shaking out of their funk early in the third quarter, Tristan Thompson was already in fifth gear – and his energy was infectious as Cleveland blew past Indiana in the second half.

Thompson’s been quiet on the scoring end through the first three games – averaging 7.0 points per – but he’s been outstanding on the boards (11.0 rpg) and especially on the offensive glass, with 18 of his 33 total rebounds coming on the offensive end. On Thursday night, the sixth-year center swatted a game-high three shots one game after blocking a pair at The Q.

In 44 career postseason contests, Tristan has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 27 – including all three games of the current series with Indy.

His fellow Longhorn, Myles Turner, has had a strong sophomore campaign, but – other than his massive one-handed dunk in Game 3 – he’s had a rough time in the series against Cleveland. After a solid 11-point, 8-rebound effort in Game 1, the Cavs have held him to six points and five boards in each of the previous two contests – shooting a combined 6-for-22 in the process.

The Pacers don’t need Turner to be the second coming of the Dunkin’ Dutchman; they just need him to be the same player he was during the regular season.

Overcoming the daunting deficit that they did on Thursday night was incredible. But what made it even more incredible was that the Wine and Gold did so with two of their Big Three watching the entire fourth quarter from the sidelines.

Tyronn Lue talked about it after Saturday’s practice at Butler, maintaining that his stars are all good and on the same page as they look to sweep the Pacers on Sunday afternoon. Irving was off in Game 3 – finishing 4-of-17 on the night for 13 points. But he’s one game removed from dropping 37 on the Pacers on Monday night at The Q and he scored 60 points through the first two contests.

His counterpart, Jeff Teague, has had a somewhat solid series – averaging 17.7 points – but he was ineffective trying to keep his team afloat in Game 3 and, after averaging 11.0 assists against Cleveland during the regular season, is at only 5.0 apg in the series.

Love might not have posted big numbers, but his rebound and save in the third quarter gave the squad a big lift when it desperately needed one. Love finished with 13 points and six boards, but struggled from the floor – going 4-for-12 after his amazing Game 2 feat, netting 27 points on seven attempts from the floor.

He’s had his hands full with Thaddeus Young – who’s coming off his second straight double-figure scoring game, but made his true mark on the offensive glass, where he grabbed 10 of his 14 rebounds.

keybank-five-keys-cavaliers-at-pacers-game-4

KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Pacers, Game 4

Cleveland's Blue-Collar Big Man Doing the Postseason Dirty Work

by Joe Gabriele (@CavsJoeG)
4/22/17 | Cavs.com

When Tristan Thompson’s games-played streak came to a close in the final week of the regular season, we measured it by the number of consecutive contests he appeared in – 447.

A sprained right thumb suffered in a win over Orlando ended the iron man streak, and ran his grand total of missed games to nine games over a six-year career. That’s 457 of 466 contests, or 98 percent attendance.

And although the streak was very meaningful, Thompson knew that the decision was about the bigger picture.

”I think (the streak ending) is a good thing,” said the ever-optimistic big man. “Obviously, you want to keep the streak going, but at the same time, your body needs rest. So it’s a good thing. This is a marathon, not a sprint. The big goal is playing in June, so I’d rather be in the best shape I can be in health-wise than be dragging with nagging injuries or not being 100 percent trying to get to the Finals.”

Of course, just because he accepted the decision didn’t mean he was happy about it.

”It was definitely tough, not being able to go up to Boston, especially with the dynamic of that situation,” recalled Tristan. “But the guys held the fort down and did their thing, and after the game I was on FaceTime with all of them when they were running through the tunnel, so it was pretty dope.”

Not used to watching from home, Thompson still made his presence felt from his living room couch.

”Oh, I was hyped! I was like their No. 1 cheerleader. I was going crazy at home! Talking trash – cursing! I was riled up like I was at the arena.”

Tristan Thompson has pulled down double-digit boards in all three games of this series (11.0 RPG). He recorded nine points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes in the Game 3 victory and has now had 10-plus boards in 27 of his 44 career playoff games.
Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images

Yet another way to gauge the franchise’s all-time iron man – who eclipsed Jim Chones’ previous mark of 361 straight – is to look at the centers that have come and gone since he began his streak midway through a lockout-shortened rookie season in 2011-12.

That list includes the likes of Semih Erden, Ryan Hollins, Tyler Zeller, Anderson Varejao, Spencer Hawes, Andrew Bynum, Kendrick Perkins, Brendan Haywood and the incomparable Alex Kirk.

And that’s just the list heading into this season.

After winning the title with the Wine and Gold last year, Timofey Mozgov signed with the Lakers in the offseason. In late July, the World Champs inked veteran center Chris Andersen. But after appearing in only a dozen contests, a season-ending knee injury essentially closed the book on the Birdman chapter in Cleveland.

As the Cavs searched for an answer at the backup center spot, Channing Frye manned the middle – a role he’s not cut out for, but one he’s filled impressively. In 15 starts this season, Frye averaged 11.4 points and 5.1 boards per. In his four starts at center with Tristan nursing the sprained right thumb, Frye was even better – averaging 14.8 points and 7.0 rebounds, shooting 57 percent from the floor, 41 percent from long-distance.

But the Cavs brass knew that, despite Frye’s solid stints at center, they’d still need help.

On March 2, the Cavaliers looked to have solved the situation – inking Andrew Bogut for the remainder of the season. But less than a minute into his Cleveland debut, in a home matchup against Miami, the former No. 1 overall pick broke his left leg closing out on a three-point shooter.

That injury sucked the life out of the team that night – and maybe for the rest of the month. And once again, it was Thompson and Frye as the Wine and Gold’s last line of defense.

For the Cavaliers’ most easy-going guy – (aside from a well-earned outburst in overtime on April 2 at The Q) – it hasn’t bothered him to do most of the heavy lifting down low.

”It hasn’t been too bad; it’s part of the game,” said Thompson. “Thank God for my youth, and taking care of my body and staying strong where I can take the beating. I haven’t really thought much about not having a backup all season and Channing’s been doing a great job – protecting the paint and what he brings to the game in terms of floor-spacing. It keeps teams from keeping their big in the game so he doesn’t have to bump and grind so much.”

”That win showed what we’re about. We played with the heart of a Champion. We played right to the horn.”

The nice inside-out combination of Thompson and Frye has worked well through the first three games of the postseason. Thompson is shooting .588 from the floor and averaging 11.0 boards per. Frye is shooting .563 from the floor and an even 50 percent (6-of-12) from long-range.

Of Thompson’s 33 boards in the postseason, 18 have come off the offensive glass.

During the regular season, Tristan ranked 5th in the league, averaging 3.7 offensive boards per game. And in the Playoffs, only the great Moses Malone (5.4 rpg) has been better on the offensive glass than Thompson (4.4) in the tournament.

The native Canadian – who shot a career-best .600 from the floor this season – was one of the driving forces behind the Cavaliers’ jaw-dropping comeback on Thursday night, revving his motor in the game’s decisive third quarter – snagging six of his 10 boards and blocking two of his three shots in the period.

Naturally, Thursday’s effort was not lost on Tyronn Lue.

”Just having the fight – and every night Tristan is gonna give you that,” said Lue after the epic Game 3 win. “He’s gonna work hard, he’s gonna be on the offensive glass, he’s gonna defend and he’s gonna rebound the basketball. And when he’s making big plays like that – offensive rebounding, put-backs, rolling to the basket and finishing or getting a big stop defensively, it really energizes our whole team.”

”That win showed what we’re about,” added Thompson. “We played with the heart of a Champion. We played right to the horn.”

The six-year vet from Texas has had another rock-solid season with the squad that selected him with the fourth overall pick in 2011 – averaging 8.1 points and 9.2 boards (15th in the league), doubling-up on 19 occasions, grabbing double-digit boards in 38 games and leading the team in 40. He also blocked a career-best 84 shots this past season.

”I lifted a little more this year -- got a little stronger, started growing into my body a little more,” admitted Thompson. “I’ve tried taking that to another level, just being physically stronger to take those lumps. You have to give a lot of credit to D-Mill (Cavs strength coach Derek Millender) for getting me prepared for that.”

After his four-game layoff, the iron man streak might be over. But a revived Thompson has moved on to the next chapter and he’s got his eyes on a much bigger prize.

”I feel refreshed; I think having that week off was definitely huge for me, just in terms of re-charging my battery and getting me ready for the postseason,” concluded Cleveland’s blue-collar big. “In the postseason, every possession counts, so it’s the little things. Sometimes, it’s the little plays that I make that can change the outcome of the game – whether it’s blocking a shot or blitzing a guard or getting an offensive rebound.

”Those little things can change a game. They can change a series.”

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Still Punching In

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4‑23‑17 at Pacers