5-25-17 at Celtics

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#CavsCeltics Game 5 Road Game Watch Party

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Wrap-Up -- From the moment the regular season tipped off in late October, it seemed like the Cavaliers and Warriors were on collision course for Round 3. And after taking care of the Celtics in five games – including Thursday’s blowout in Boston – both squads are once again ready to rumble.

The Wine and Gold advanced the NBA Finals for the third straight season – where they’ll square off again with Golden State – making quick work of the shorthanded Celtics in Game 5, pulling away early for the 135-102 decision.

With the win, the Cavaliers closed the Eastern Conference portion of their bracket with a 12-1 mark, going undefeated in seven tries on the road. They’ll be going up against a Warriors team that comes into the Finals unblemished.

After hitting a speedbump against the Celtics on Sunday night – dropping their only contest of the postseason – the Cavaliers were razor sharp over the last two games of the series – shooting just under 60 percent in Game 4 and 57 percent in Thursday’s drubbing at the TD Garden.

Leaving nothing to doubt, Cleveland jumped on Boston early – taking a double-digit lead less than five minutes into the affair and not looking back the rest of the way. The Celtics never led on Thursday night; the Cavaliers led by as many as 39 in the fourth quarter.

LeBron James continued his historic postseason run in Game 5 – leading everyone with 35 points en route to passing Michael Jordan as the leading scorer in NBA Playoff history.

On the night, the four-time MVP finished 13-of-18 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long-range, adding eight boards, eight assists, three steals and a blocked shot in just three quarters of work.

”I think the biggest thing for me sitting here today after breaking the all-time scoring record in Playoff history is that I did it just being me,” explained James. “I don't have to score the ball to make an impact in the basketball game. That was my mindset when I started playing the game. I was like, ‘If I'm not scoring the ball, how can I still make an impact on the game?’ It's carried me all the way to this point now, and it's going to carry me for the rest of my career.”

Kyrie Irving followed up his massive 42-point performance in Game 4 with a 24-point performance in the series clincher – going 9-for-15 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from long-distance, to go with seven helpers and a pair of steals.

”This is one that I can really put in the memory bank and be proud of up until this point, because I finally got to play the majority of the games in the regular season and be challenged every single night,” said Irving. “And then the final three weeks of the season as well as Round One was some of the toughest basketball that I had to play. It's definitely one for the books for me up to this point.”

Kevin Love doubled-up in each game of the Eastern Conference Finals – tallying 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting, leading both squads with 11 boards and four steals in the win.

On Thursday night, Deron Williams was just the second Cavaliers reserve in the series to tally double-figures, leading the second unit with 14 points – all in the second quarter – going 5-of-6 from the floor, 2-of-3 from deep in just over 17 minutes of work.

For a guy like Derrick Williams – who celebrated his 26th birthday with the win – this has been his first career foray into the postseason. For others, like veteran Kyle Korver – who finished with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting from deep – the victory marked his first trip to the NBA Finals after being eliminated by many of his current teammates over the past two seasons.

”I think especially since this is year 14 for me, for this to happen now it means so much,” beamed Korver. “You work all summer, you work all season for so many years in a row hoping to get to this point. I don’t think its sunk in all the way yet, but it’s really special.”

The Big Three combine for 74 points as the Cavs clinch the East.

As good as the Cavaliers have been at The Q in the postseason, they were even tougher on the road in the East Finals – beating Boston by a combined 90 points in three games at the TD Garden.

On Friday night, the Wine and Gold drilled 19 three-pointers – going 19-for-41 as a team – and handled Boston in the paint, 50-38. Defensively, Cleveland held the Celtics to 43 percent shooting, forcing 18 turnovers that the Cavs converted into a dozen points.

Turning Point -- Thursday night’s turning point might have been the earliest one of the 2017 Playoffs – with the Wine and Gold jumping all over Boston in the opening moments and didn’t let up until Tyronn Lue replaced his starters to start the fourth quarter.

Kevin Love opened the night’s scoring with a three-pointer and Marcus Smart answered to tie the game on Boston’s next possession. That tie with 10:45 to play in the first quarter was as good as it would get for the overmatched Celtics – who found themselves down 10with just under eight minutes to play in the period and trailed by as many as 21 before they could escape the quarter.

The Celtics whittled Cleveland’s lead to 13 early in the second and used a mini-run to cut the Cavs’ halftime lead to 18. But the Wine and Gold put the hammer down in the third quarter – extending their edge to as many as 35 before calling off the dogs.

By the Numbers – 5,995 … career Playoff points that LeBron James has scored over the course of his iconic career – passing Michael Jordan for the top spot in NBA history. With his fourth three-pointer of the night, James also passed Manu Ginobili for 3rd place on the all-time postseason list, canning triple No. 319.

Quotable – Coach Tyronn Lue, on how his team came together in the Playoffs …

”This is a big step for us, especially what we went through all season, and we were doubted throughout the regular season all year. To come back and do what we did, to go 12-1 in the playoffs, to be playing good basketball, I'm very happy and I'm going to enjoy it until we play Golden State. With that being said, tonight I'll start my prepping, and we'll see what happens.”

Up Next -- After posting the “gentleman’s sweep” of the Celtics, the Wine and Gold will prepare for the awaiting Warriors, who wrapped up the Western Conference Finals on Monday night. The Cavaliers will travel out to Oakland on Tuesday, with Game 1 set for next Thursday night at Oracle Arena. Game 2 is set for next Sunday (June 4) before the series returns to Cleveland for the next two – with Game 3 slated for Wednesday, June 7 and Game 4 going down on Friday, June 9. From there, the Finals go 1-1-1 – with Game 5 on June 12 in Oakland, Game 6 on Thursday night back at The Q and Game 7 the following Sunday night, June 18, on the West Coast.

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Cavs Pummel Celtics, Punch Return Ticket to NBA Finals

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#CavsCeltics Game 5 Photos - May 25, 2017

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Breaking Down the Series-Clinching 'W'

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On Thursday night, the Cavaliers can wrap up the Eastern Conference title for the third straight season – traveling to Boston for Game 5 after getting back on track and pulling past the scrappy Celtics on Tuesday.

After thumping Boston in the first two games of the series, the Wine and Gold had designs on going “fo’, fo’ fo’” in their collision course with the Warriors. But the Celtics stole Game 3 on Sunday night, changing the complexion of Game 4 at The Q. Cleveland struggled through the first half, trailing by as many as 16 points in the second quarter, before bouncing back with a vengeance after intermission, shooting 71 percent from the floor – with Kyrie Irving scoring 21 of his Playoff career-high 42 points in the third period.

The Wine and Gold – joining Golden State as the only team in the postseason to score at least 100 points in each of their first 12 games – got 93 combined points from the Big Three. Cleveland is averaging 115.3 points during their current Playoff run and, even with Sunday’s clunker, is averaging 116.3 ppg in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And they come to Boston with recent history on their side. Since 2009, the Cavs have won each of their last 12 potential series-clinching games, tying the longest such streak in NBA Playoff history (Lakers, 2000 to 2004).

Through the first two-and-a-half rounds of the 2017 Playoffs, Kyrie Irving had shown bursts of his explosive offensive game. But on Tuesday night, Uncle Drew put it all together – finishing with a postseason career-high 42 points, going 15-for-22 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from long-range and 8-of-9 from the stripe.

The four-time All-Star – who was 9-of-10 from the floor in the third quarter, 10-of-12 in the second half – added four assists and three boards as the Wine and Gold pulled away for the crucial Game 4 win.

Kyrie re-discovered his shooting stroke in Game 4 against Toronto and has carried momentum right into the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 26.3 points on .627 shooting, including an even 50 percent (11-of-22) from long-range and .909 (20-of-22) from the stripe.

After Isaiah Thomas went down with a hip injury, Marcus Smart has taken over point guard duties for Boston. But after having a huge game on Sunday night – leading the Celtics with 27 points, going 7-for-10 from deep – the rugged point guard came back down to Earth in Game 4 – going 1-for-9 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from long-range.

It’s a simple postseason principle: LeBron James never has two bad games in a row. And that was exactly the case earlier this week when the four-time MVP struggled to find his rhythm in Sunday night’s surprising loss at The Q – netting only 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting – and bounced back with a 34-point effort two nights later in Cleveland’s Game 4 win on Tuesday.

James was slow out of the gate on Tuesday night, but he went on to score 24 points after intermission – going 15-for-27 from the floor overall to go with a team-best six assists, five boards, a steal and a blocked shot.

Lebron, who prides himself on efficiency, would love to clean up his turnovers as the Cavs return to Boston; he’s had 11 over this last two outings.

If the King posts a similar performance on Thursday night, he’ll do more than notch his 11th 30-point night of the 2017 postseason – he’ll become the top scorer in NBA Playoff history, passing Michael Jordan (5,987) to reach the zenith.

Once again Jae Crowder will get the start against James and once again, Brad Stevens will try to mix up his coverages to keep LeBron guessing. Crowder was solid again for Boston on Tuesday night – finishing with 18 points on 6-for-12 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.

In the Cavaliers’ two previous series, their bench gave them a huge lift. Against Boston, the recipe has been a heapin’ helpin’ of the Big Three (with a dash of Tristan Thompson). And on Tuesday night, Cleveland’s All-Star trifecta teamed up for 93 points – the highest point total they’ve produced in a single Playoff game.

Kevin Love might have been off-and-on against Indiana and Toronto, but he’s been laser-focused against the Celtics – the team that ended his postseason run two years ago.

In Tuesday night’s Game 4 win, Love finished with 17 points and postseason career-highs in rebounds (17), defensive boards (15) and assists (5). The four-time All-Star has posted double-doubles in all four games of the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 24.5 points, 12.9 boards and 1.3 blocks per, shooting .508 from the floor, .556 from beyond the arc and .857 from the stripe in the series.

Kelly Olynyk got the start for Boston in Game 4 and was relatively effective, finishing with 15 points and five boards, going 7-for-14 from the floor. Jonas Jerebko was solid for his second straight game – coming off the bench to notch nine points and five rebounds in the loss.

Although any reserve can step up on any given night, it’s been a starter-centric series for the Wine and Gold. And on Tuesday night, Tristan Thompson showed that he can affect the series whether he’s grabbing rebounds or not – with Boston putting two and three bodies on the sixth-year big man to keep him off the boards.

Thompson didn’t post huge numbers, finishing with just seven points and seven boards one game after his 18-point, 13-rebound night in Game 3.

But despite the pedestrian numbers, the attention Boston paid to Tristan allowed Love to snag a Playoff career-high in rebounds while posting a game-best +14 number in his 37 minutes of action.

Tristan has grabbed more offensive boards than anyone in the 2017 Playoffs and has tallied double-digit rebounds in 10 of Cleveland’s 12 postseason contests.

Al Horford is not your typical big man, but he has been solid for the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals – averaging 15.5 points and 6.5 boards over the previous two contests.

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KeyBank Five Keys: Cavaliers at Celtics, Game 5

The defending NBA Champion Cavaliers travel to Boston on Thursday night for Game 5 of the East Finals. Tipoff from TD Garden is at 8:30 p.m. (ET).

With a victory, the Wine &amp; Gold can clinch their 3rd straight and 4th overall appearance in the NBA Finals.

CAVS TO DON NAVY JERSEYS.
        From where to catch all the action to Thursday's game notes, Cavs.com has you covered.

The Cavs posted a 112-99 victory over Boston in Game 4 on Tuesday night, erasing a 16-point first half deficit. Cleveland tied a playoff franchise record by shooting .595 (44-74) from the field (also shot 44-7, .595, on 5/7/10 at BOS). The Wine &amp; Gold held a 58-34 edge is points in the paint and outscored Boston 16-4 on the fast break.

After scoring 112 points in their Game 4 victory, the Cavaliers have scored at least 100 points in all 12 playoff games, joining this year's Warriors as the only teams in NBA history to score 100+ points in each of their first 12 postseason games. Cleveland is averaging 115.3 points during the playoffs, including an average of 116.8 points in the Eastern Conference Finals (highest PPG in a series in franchise history).

For Boston, it's win or stay home, so expect the feisty Celtics to come ready to battle in front of their home crowd.

The Celtics have done a admirable job since losing their All-Star floor general, Isaiah Thomas, for the remainder of the series. Stepping up in his absence has been Thomas' fellow backcourt mate, Avery Bradley. Bradley finished with 20 points, three rebounds and four assists, including the game-winning triple in Game 3 and followed that performance up with a team-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists in Game 4.

Boston will need Bradley to have another solid performance as the Celtics seek to send the series back to The Land for Game 6.

The Wine &amp; Gold have been very good against teams fighting for their season. Since 2009, Cleveland has won each of its last 12 potential series-clinching playoff games, matching the longest such streak in NBA history (L.A. Lakers from 2000 to 2004). (Elias Sports Bureau

For live in-game updates, follow @cavs, @CavsJoeG, @CavsFredMcLeod, @MrCavalier34, @CavsJMike, @ElalcaldeRafa and @chones22 on Twitter.

Status Update: (Cavs) - Edy Tavares (Right Hand Fracture, Out)

Status Update: (Celtics) - Isaiah Thomas (Strained Right Hip, Out)

Kyrie Irving (42), LeBron James (34) and Kevin Love (17) combined to score 93 points in Game 4, which is the most points the trio have combined for in the playoffs and the 2nd highest scoring output by three teammates in postseason history (94 on 4/23/92 by B. Daugherty – 40, M. Price – 35, J. Williams – 19).

In Game 4, Kyrie Irving tallied a postseason career-high 42 points on 15-22 (.682) shooting, a 4-7 (.571) mark on three-pointers and an 8-9 (.889) clip from the free throw line, eight rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes. In the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, Irving is averaging 26.3 points, shooting .627 (37-59) from the field, .500 (11-22) from deep and .909 (20-22) from the free throw line, 5.0 assists and 1.0 steal in 36.5 minutes.

Irving tied the Cavalier playoff record for points in a quarter with 21 (LeBron James also scored 21 in 1st Q at BOS on 5/7/10), while also breaking the franchise postseason record for field goals made in a single quarter with 9 (previously 8 by LeBron James on 5/7/10) in the third quarter of Tuesday’s Game 4 victory. He scored Cleveland’s final 14 points in the third quarter and poured in 19 points in the last 4:48 of the frame.

LeBron James finished with 34 points (15 in 4th Q) on 15-27 (.556) shooting, five rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block in 38 minutes of Game 4. James has now scored 30 or more points in 10 of the Cavs’ 12 playoffs games. He also has now recorded at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in a NBA Playoff record 69 contests.

In Game 4, Kevin Love finished with 17 points, while posting playoff career-highs in rebounds (17), defensive rebounds (15) and assists (5). In this series, Love has recorded a double-double in all four games and is averaging 24.5 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 34.5 minutes, while also shooting .508 (30-59) from the field, .556 (20-36) from beyond the arc and .857 (18-21) from the charity stripe.

If necessary, it's back at The Q for Game 6 on Saturday and next Monday night back in Boston if it goes the distance.FIND SEATS | SCHEDULE

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#CavsCeltics Game 5 Preview - May 25, 2017

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5‑25‑17 at Celtics