2016 Round 2 vs Hawks

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CavsTV Top Plays From Round Two vs. Atlanta

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Top Photos From Round 2 vs. Atlanta

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Wrap-Up -- Give the Hawks credit; they threw everything they could at the Cavaliers. But the Wine and Gold has all the markings of a team on a mission – and on Sunday afternoon, they took one step closer to completing it, winning a 100-99 thriller to sweep Atlanta out of the postseason and improve to 8-0 heading into the Eastern Conference Finals.

In a series featuring record-setting performances and dazzling individual performances, Game 4 came down to a simple jump-ball.

After Dennis Schroder scored on a layup to get the Hawks within a point with 34.4 to play and had a chance to put Atlanta ahead on Atlanta’s final possession, charging to the hole with the clock winding down. But LeBron tied him up along the way, forcing a jumpball with 2.8 to play.

James easily won the tip and J.R. Smith tracked down the ball in the corner. But he saved it to Paul Millsap, who was able to launch a desperation heave from the corner. The shot fell short and the Wine and Gold improved to 12-0 all-time against Atlanta in the Playoffs.

For the fourth time in the 2016 postseason, the Big Three all tallied at least 20 points – led by Kevin Love, whose monster third quarter turned the entire game around.

Love struggled from the floor in the first half – going 4-for-12. In his defense, all four of Love’s makes were from beyond the arc. In the third he was almost unstoppable, canning three three-pointers in 61 seconds early in the period as the Cavs turned a six-point deficit into a two-point edge.

When the smoke cleared on the quarter, Love had notched 15 points and seven board – going 5-for-9 from the floor and 4-of-7 from deep. On the afternoon, the three-time All-Star led both teams with 27 points on 9-for-25 shooting, including 8-of-15 from long-range to go with a game-high 13 boards.

Love’s eight triples tied a Philips Arena postseason record for opponent’s three-pointers in a game with eight – tying the mark J.R. Smith set in Game 1 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals.

“(Love)’s been staying with it and making big shots,” praised Coach Lue after the win. “You know, early on he might be frustrated but tonight he stayed with it and stayed the course and had a big third quarter, he really got us over the hump.”

LeBron doubled-up for the second straight game and nearly notched his first triple-double of the 2016 Playoffs, finishing with 21 points, 10 boards and nine assists – going 10-for-23 from the floor, adding a pair of steals and a block.

Kyrie Irving topped the 20-point mark for the seventh time in eight postseason contests -- finishing with 21 points and eight assists, going an even 8-for-16 from the floor.

”We’re in a great rhythm right now as far as (the Big Three),” explained James. “We know exactly where we want to be on the floor. We know exactly where we are on the floor. It’s benefited all of us individually and obviously it’s trickled down to the team.”

The Wine and Gold didn’t break any more three-point shooting records on Sunday afternoon, but they still drilled 16 triples – going 16-for-37 from long-distance – and finished with 77 treys in the four-game series.

For the second time in the series, Schroder led the Hawks in scoring – coming off the bench to net 15 of his 21 points after intermission. Paul Millsap killed the Cavaliers early, netting 15 points in the first period. But the Wine and Gold held him to just four more points and no field goals for the rest of the game.

The Cavaliers didn’t have their best defensive effort of the postseason, allowing Atlanta to shoot 56 percent in the first half. But Cleveland clamped down after intermission – holding the Hawks to 35 percent in the third period – and completely stymying Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver once again. Teague finished with five points in 22 minutes of action; Korver, just a deuce.

”Coming out here on the road, we definitely did it with defense,” said J.R. Smith, who stifled Korver in the series. “Once we got a few stops, we were able to run and execute on the offensive end. But it was all because of our defense.”

Turning Point -- There’s no need to get cute with Sunday’s turning point – and it came courtesy of Kevin Love.

Through the first half, the Cavaliers couldn’t get any traction and at one point, found themselves trailing by a dozen, 40-28, early in the second quarter. They closed the first half strong, trailing by just two at the break.

Atlanta hit its first two shots of the second stanza, but that’s as good as it would get for the Hawks after halftime. On Cleveland’s next possession, LeBron drilled a triple to cut Atlanta’s lead in half. And on the Cavaliers’ next three possessions, James found Love in almost the exact same spot beyond the arc.

In short order, Love’s triple-trifecta put the Cavaliers ahead by two, 68-66, and his 21-footer on the next possession upped their edge to four. The Hawks reclaimed a brief advantage late in the quarter, but didn’t lead by more than two the rest of the way.

By the Numbers – 19.0, 13.0 … Kevin Love’s scoring and rebounding averages through the first eight games of the postseason – netting a double-double in each contest. He leads the squad with an .818 mark from the stripe, has shot .444 from long-range, posted three 20-plus point games and snagged exactly 100 boards through the first two rounds.

Quotable – Hawks forward Paul MIllsap, on the Cavaliers’ three-point barrage in the series …

”Three-point shots are a killer, man. They shot the mess out of the ball. When everybody on the basketball court can shoot the ball like that, it puts your defense at a tough spot. We struggled with it all night, all series.”

Up Next –  The Cavaliers will now play the waiting game for the second time in the postseason while they await the winner of the Heat-Raptors series – which Toronto currently leads, 2-1 – as the franchise prepares for its sixth tripe to the Eastern Conference Finals. If the series wraps up in six games or less, Game 1 will take place on Sunday afternoon at The Q; if it goes seven, the Wine and Gold will have to wait until next Tuesday night.

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Cavs Complete Sweep, Return to Conference Finals

Game 4 Postgame Breakdown with Richard Jefferson - May 8, 2016

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Listen to Radio Play-by-Play announcers Rafa "El Alcalde" and John Michael's Calls of the Game during the Cavs game against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on May 8, 2016.

With 0:39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, LeBron James hits the fadeaway jumper over Paul Millsap, giving the Cavaliers the 100-97 lead over the Atlanta Hawks.

Jugada del Partido Round 2 Game 4 at Atlanta

Escucha a la voz en español de los Cavaliers Rafa "El Alcalde" con la narración de la jugada del partido entre Los Cavaliers de Cleveland y Los Hawks de Atlanta en El Philips Arena de Atlanta, GA  el  8 de Mayo  del 2016. Los Cavs avanzaron a las finales de la conferencia del Este por segunda temporada consecutiva al barrer a Los Hawks con victoria de 100 - 99 en Atlanta. Kevin Love y LeBron James fueron clave para la victoria. Love conecto 8 triples en el partido, el octavo igualo la marca de mas triples en un partido de post temporada y le dio 15 puntos en el ser cuarto.
Y LeBron anotó 21 puntos con esta canasta que selló la victoria para Los Cavs. El Rey ahora, ha anotado por lo menos 20 puntos en 18 partidos consecutivos de post temporada.

(On celebration at the end): “Well, we know Atlanta is a tough team and the closeout game is the hardest game. They gave us everything they had. We just stuck with it and stuck with the game plan. If we had to adjust we made adjustments. I think it felt good to get a win like that, especially on the road. Coming together, being down one with a 1:13 left in the game, we were able to win the game, and that’s a big win for us

(How have you (James, Love, Irving) figured out how to co-exist with each other at a high level?): “I know the guys have been waiting for this opportunity, being a part of the postseason again after what happened last year with their injuries. So they’ve been building up towards this, both mentally and physically. Obviously I can’t say that I haven’t waited for them as well, to get them back to this moment so I can be out there with them because it’s something that we all envisioned when I came back here and (Love) was traded here. And obviously (Irving) was already here. We’re in a great rhythm right now as far as us three. We know exactly where we want to be on the floor. We know exactly where we are on the floor. It’s benefited all of us individually and obviously it’s trickled down to the team.”

(On keeping focus after a sweep): “I think all three of us can agree we did a good job between the last series sweep, us staying locked in. We got a lot of conditioning. We were naturally watching the Atlanta and Boston series, depending on who we were going to play, looking at the different matchups, key matchups, and how those teams are coached. What their fourth-quarter package is, how they run their offense, defensive schemes. We saw both of those teams last year in the playoffs. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to play after the first round, but we did a great job of staying locked in, sharp on the court. We had our days off. We even had off-the-court, our team dinners, staying together as a team in every single way. So I felt like we’re going to do a good job of that this week, being able to stay locked in and, for whatever is next, we’re going to be ready.”

(On Kevin Love): “It was great, actually, the way it happened. We’re coming down a few possessions and the pace slowly starts to pick up in the third quarter…we’re getting downhill, myself and (LeBron) and our aggressiveness is there. Then we just started to see something that just kind of unraveled with their defense. I came down and it was kind of in the spur of the moment. I ran a double drag with (Love) and he, I don’t think they can prepare for something like that - myself screening and him screening, and then he’s popping and I’m rolling. Then we came to the timeout and we discussed it and we kept going to what worked. He had made a shot in the right corner before. Then he gets going like that. I mean, that’s just big time.”

(On closing out another series in four straight games): “It shows a lot about our courage - the way we’ve been playing - coming in here to a hostile environment. We tried to take the crowd out of the game, but unfortunately it didn’t really work. Today, (the Hawks) played extremely well, so it’s a big win for us.”

Cavaliers Forward/Center Tristan Thompson

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Sounds of Game 4: Cavaliers at Hawks - May 8, 2016

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Game 4 Postgame: Coach Lue - May 8, 2016

Game 4 Postgame: LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving - May 8, 2016

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Game 4 Postgame: Matthew Dellavedova - May 8, 2016

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