Playoff On This Date

clenadams

this-week-in-cavaliers-playoff-history-4

This Week in Cavaliers Playoff History

this-week-in-cavaliers-playoff-history-2

this-week-in-cavaliers-playoff-history

clejgabriele

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words and in the any sport’s postseason, that might be especially true.

The photo of LeBron James following one of the great Playoff performances of all-time says it all. After a Game 3 overtime victory for the ages – and after missing his first 10 shots of the night – the four-time MVP literally left everything on the floor.

In a game filled with a little bit of everything, LeBron filled up almost every column in the boxscore against Atlanta – culminated by his bomb from the left corner with 36.4 remaining in overtime – answering Jeff Teague’s trey on the other end – that gave the Cavaliers a one-point lead. After Teague’s missed layup on the next possession, the four-time MVP put some icing on the cake, sinking a short runner to give Cleveland the epic 114-111 victory.

Watch super slow-mo highlights from Game 3.

When the smoke cleared, the Cavaliers wrapped up their toughest game of their Eastern Conference Finals, putting the 60-win Hawks in a 3-0 hole – one win away from punching a ticket to their second Finals appearance in franchise history.

Logging a game-high 47 minutes, the four-time MVP finished with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists – leading both teams in each category – going 14-of-37 from the floor, 8-of-10 from the stripe, grabbing eight of his 18 boards off the offensive glass and adding a team-high three steals. It was the 50th triple-double of his illustrious career.

Making LeBron’s absurd stat-line even more impressive – if that’s possible – is that he didn’t hit his first field goal until the 7:03 mark of the second quarter.

”For me, offense, as far as scoring, doesn't define my game,” said an exhausted James. “I've always wanted to be a triple-threat in this league, being able to rebound and to assist and also to score. So when I wasn't scoring and those guys were picking me up, I was able to do other things to help us go.”

The Cavaliers played their second straight game without Kyrie Irving – out with left knee tendinitis – but Matthew Dellavedova filled in admirably once again, notching 17 points, three boards and a pair of assists in 45 action-packed minutes.

The Hawks were already without sharpshooter Kyle Korver, who will miss the remainder of the Playoffs after Delly inadvertently rolled on his ankle chasing a loose ball on Friday night. On Sunday, once again chasing a loose ball, Delly wound up at the legs of Al Horford during a scrum. Horford took offense and swung his elbow at Dellavedova’s head as he lay on the ground.

Dellavedova received a technical foul for the play; for the elbow, Horford was issued a Flagrant-2 and shown the exit.

Despite his monster night, LeBron was even more effusive in his praise of Delly.

”Obviously, I’m a little bit off about it because this is my guy, this is my teammate, and this is a guy that goes out and works his tail off every single night, and people are trying to give him a bad rap,” said LeBron after the win. “He doesn’t deserve it and I don’t like it. But I’m not going to get involved in anything that’s outside of basketball. That’s not my place. What I care about is how we prepare every single night, how we prepare in the film session and how we go about trying to win a basketball game.”

Though they didn’t realize it at the time, LeBron and Delly’s excellent adventure was just getting started. They swept Atlanta out of the Playoffs one game later and went on a heroic Finals run that saw the undermanned squad get within two games of a title.

on-this-date-in-cavs-playoff-history-may-24

On This Date in Cavs Playoff History - May 24

Right now, the Cavaliers are right in the moment – six difficult wins away from the franchise’s first NBA title. The Wine and Gold's historic run this postseason has unfolded at a rapid pace.

The Bulls’ franchise has seen this story culminate with a happy ending on six separate occasions over an eight-year span. And entwined somewhere in the fabric of their playoff history is Lenny Wilkens’ Cleveland Cavaliers – who consistently challenged "His Airness" in his perennial pursuit of the title.

Michael Jordan frustrated the Cavaliers more than the other way around, but on this date back in 1992, Cleveland got the better of the man still considered the game’s greatest.

Three seasons after “The Shot,” the Cavaliers fought their way through the first two rounds of the 1992 Playoffs – dropping Derrick Coleman and the Nets in four games and sealing the end of Larry Bird’s illustrious career by topping Boston in seven brutal contests before reaching the Conference Finals for the first time since 1976.

The reigning NBA Champion Bulls swept Miami before enduring a brutal Second Round themselves against the New York Knicks. But the Bulls got well in the first game of the East Finals – crushing the Cavs by 17 points at then-Chicago Stadium. In Game 1, Scottie Pippen notched 29 points and finished one assist shy of a triple-double and Jordan led all scorers with 33 points.

The Cavaliers’ defense was stingy right from the start, and didn’t allow Chicago’s Hall of Fame duo to get untracked until the fourth quarter. Through the first three, Cavs’ All-Star guard Mark Price was having no such problem – going 4-of-5 from long-distance as Cleveland took a 23-point lead into intermission – stunning the Windy City sellout.

Both teams slowed down after half and the Bulls found their offensive mojo in the fourth. But the Cavs were just as good offensively in the final period – pulling away for the 107-81 win to even the Eastern Conference Finals at one game apiece.

Brad Daugherty led all scorers with 28 points and the Cavaliers with nine boards. Price, who was also 9-of-9 from the stripe, followed up with 23 points and Larry Nance added 14 points and four blocks. Hot Rod Williams came off the bench to contribute 10 points and six boards.

Jordan still led Chicago with 20 points, but Craig Ehlo, Mike Sanders and the Cavs held him to just 7-for-22 shooting. Pippen didn’t fare much better, going just 4-of-14 from the floor.

The two teams would proceed to split the next two games back at The Coliseum in Richfield before the Bulls blew out Cleveland in Game 5 in Chicago. The Bulls returned to Cleveland where they ended the Cavaliers title dreams with a 99-94 win at The Coliseum.

The Bulls would go on to win their second straight NBA title, beating the Blazers in six games. The Cavaliers wouldn’t return to the Conference Finals again until 2007, where they outlasted the Pistons to reach their first NBA Finals.

The current Cavs are two wins away from accomplishing that feat for the second straight season.

on-this-date-in-cavs-playoff-history-may-21

On This Date in Cavs Playoff History - May 21

After disposing of the Celtics in four games and the Bulls in six, the Cavaliers needed to get past the top-seeded Hawks to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

To beat the 60-win Hawks in Game 1 with Kevin Love out and Kyrie Irving hobbled, Cleveland knew it would have to get good production off the bench – and they did, outscoring Atlanta’s reserves, 28-19.

As he had throughout his career, Swish caught fire in the second half of the series opener – drilling five of his eight triples after intermission, including three straight to start the fourth quarter and extended Cleveland’s lead from seven points to 18.

The Cavaliers would need every bit of that cushion in the fourth – holding off a furious late Hawks rally that cut Cleveland’s lead to four with under a minute to play and holding on for the 97-89 Game 1 win.

LeBron James led everyone with 31 points, going 12-of-26 from the floor to go with eight boards, six assists and a steal. After a slow start by both James and the Cavaliers, the four-time MVP took over in the second period – going 7-of-9 from the floor for 14 points as the Wine and Gold erased Atlanta’s early lead and went into the locker room tied at 51-apiece.

Smith notched his all-time NBA-record 14th game of hitting at least eight three-pointers in a game – going 8-of-12 from beyond the arc (10-for-16 overall) to finish with 28 points, eight boards, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot.

”I just try to just roll with the punches,” said Smith, after the win. “I mean, once the team pretty much starts closing out, just try to get in attack mode, and at the same time, try to find my teammates. It's kind of hard, hitting the shots I was hitting, to try and pass the ball, but you've got to figure out a way.”

“I've been fortunate enough to play with some shooters to help spread the floor for myself and what I do best, and that's being in attack mode,” echoed LeBron. “To be able to play with one of the all-time greats in Ray Allen, and also play with Mike Miller and Shane Battier and James Jones still, and then you get a guy like J.R. Smith, who's able just to shoot the ball and have the extreme confidence that every time they let it go, that it's going in. When you have guys like that, you have to utilize them while they're on the floor.”

Going against a pair of All-Star big men, it was the Wine and Gold’s frontline that stole the show, with both Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov doubling-up – going a combined 10-for-16 from the floor and grabbing nine of their combined 21 rebounds off the offensive glass.

Kyrie Irving notched double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, but the litany of nagging injuries began taking their toll on the three-time All-Star – restricting him to just nine minutes of action in the second half, including just over three in the final quarter.

Kyrie’s postseason would come to an end four games later – but by then, the Wine and Gold had swept the Hawks out of the postseason and reached the Finals, albeit without two-thirds of their Big 3.

on-this-date-in-cavs-playoff-history-may-20

On This Date in Cavs Playoff History - May 20

As we’re moving through the calendar in Playoff Dates in History, there’s a theme that begins to develop – just as it continues to develop during the current Cavaliers’ postseason run: the emergence of role players in big games.

The first time a LeBron James-led squad advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals – the first of six career trips – it was another role player who shot his squad into the Third Round of the NBA’s second season.

After winning 50 games during the regular season, the 2nd-seeded Cavaliers knocked the Wizards out of the First Round for the second straight year before taking on the veteran-laded New Jersey Nets in the East Semis.

After taking the first two games of the series at The Q, New Jersey won two of the next three – including a Game 5 victory in which they held Cleveland to just 72 points on 33 percent shooting. The series also had its share of bad blood, stemming primarily from a flagrant foul against Sasha Pavlovic by Nets forward Mikki Moore in Game 3.

Game 6 took place on a Friday night in the Meadowlands, and what initially looked like a laugher quickly turned into another white-knuckle affair – especially after LeBron picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit most of the third quarter. With James on the bench, the Cavs managed just eight points in the period while watching the Nets cut a 15-point Cleveland lead to just one.

At that point, it was an unlikely hero to the rescue.

Unlike last Thursday’s performance by Delly, who’s making his playoff debut this spring, it was 34-year-old Donyell Marshall – in fact, it was exactly 34-year-old Donyell Marshall – who celebrated his birthday by canning six three-pointers, three in the final quarter to propel Cleveland past the Nets, 88-72, and into the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in franchise history.

Marshall came into Game 6 averaging just 2.0 ppg in the playoffs before that point, but he caught fire on his big birthday celebration in New Jersey – going 6-for-10 from long-distance, including a bomb from the left corner with just over two minutes to play that put the Cavs up 17 and put the series on ice.

”With today being my birthday, LeBron told me they were going to get it done for me today," laughed Marshall after the 16-point win.

Marshall finished with 18 points and five boards off the bench for the Cavs, who only had three players in double-figures – including Drew Gooden, who added 16 points and LeBron James, who led everyone with 23 points, eight boards and eight assists.

"It's a great feeling," said James postgame after reaching his first NBA final four. "This is one of the best feelings I've ever had as a basketball player."

If LeBron thought that was a great feeling, he had no idea of what he and his team would experience in the ensuing two weeks, as they got their long-awaited rematch with Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. And we all know what the King and Co. did in that six-game set.

on-this-date-in-cavs-playoff-history-may-18

On This Date in Cavs Playoff History - May 18

If you told someone unfamiliar with last season’s Cavaliers that they would be facing the Bulls in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semis on the road without Kevin Love, with Kyrie Irving playing just over one quarter and with LeBron James going 7-for-23 from the floor – and the result was a three-touchdown blowout, it would seem totally plausible.

The only thing is: it was the Wine and Gold who did the blowing out – thrashing the Bulls, 94-73, to eliminate them from the postseason and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2009.

After the first five games of the series mostly being decided in dramatic fashion – including back-to-back buzzer-beaters in Games 3 and 4 – the closer was a complete laugher.

The game turned at the exact midway point of the second quarter with the Cavaliers leading, 41-40.

That’s when Nikola Mirotic clotheslined Iman Shumpert on the offensive end, prompting Shump to go on a personal 7-0 run before Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau called timeout to stop the bleeding.

The onslaught only continued from there. Shumpert and J.R. Smith canned back-to-back treys to give Cleveland a 13-point advantage just before intermission.  Matthew Dellavedova did the rest after intermission.

The Cavaliers’ injury-marred postseason continued early in the contest when Kyrie Irving inadvertently stepped on Tristan Thompson's foot early in the second quarter, turning his left knee. Irving hobbled off the floor and directly into the locker room. After getting his leg wrapped, Kyrie came out to the Cavaliers bench, but didn’t return to floor for the rest of the evening.

With Irving out, the Cavs turned to Dellavedova, who responded with the best game of his young playoff career – going 7-for-11 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, scoring 11 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter.

The sophomore guard from St. Mary’s College – who was about to become a household name – also did his usual stellar work on the defensive end, holding Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks to a combined 18 points on 9-for-20 shooting.

Of course, after tangling with Taj Gibson in Game 2 at The Q, he was booed at the United Center every time he touched the ball.

“I didn’t really hear that many boos or like they do for LeBron,” smiled Delly after the win. “I played at BYU and Gonzaga and the boos were a lot louder there.”

Tristan Thompson, getting his fourth straight start in place of the injured Kevin Love, came up big again: doubling-up with 13 points, a game-high 17 boards and a pair of blocked shots. Thompson notched 10 of his 13 points in the first period as he set an early aggressive tone for the Wine and Gold.

Following his historic performance in Game 5, LeBron struggled from the floor, but still finished just one rebound shy of his 12th career playoff triple-double – tallying 15 points, a game-high 11 assists (just six less than Chicago had as a team), nine boards and a pair of blocked shots.

“I didn’t shoot the ball well today; when that happens, I have to bring leadership and energy,” said James. “I have to make (my teammates) believe they are supernatural. Tonight, (Dellavedova and Thompson) were terrific. For me, you can’t coach a motor. Some guys have it, some guys don’t.”

After giving up 31 points in the first period, the Cavaliers completely locked Chicago down defensively – holding the Bulls to just 13 points in the second and fourth quarters, allowing only 16 in the third. The Bulls shot 38 percent on Thursday and just above 40 percent in the series.

In the Game 6 drubbing of Chicago, the Cavaliers took twice as many free throws, held the Bulls to just 42 points over the final three periods, doubled their bench scoring and mauled them on the boards, 53-32.

Days later, the shorthanded “Grit Squad” would take on the 60-win Hawks as they continued to defy the odds in their quest to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

on-this-date-in-cavs-playoff-history-may-14

On This Date in Cavs Playoff History - May 14

Presented by:

fubo

REMAINING ROUND 2, GAME 4 TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE NOW. <strong><a href="https://seatgeek.com/cleveland-cavaliers-tickets?market=open&amp;aid=15870&amp;pid=web&amp;rid=50624&amp;utm_medium=partnership&amp;utm_source=cavs_ticketing&amp;utm_campaign=web&amp;utm_content=playofftickets">FIND SEATS &gt;&gt;</a></strong>