May 26 vs Hawks

clejgabriele

Wrap-Up – It’s a phrase that LeBron James has used since the historic letter he penned before his return to Cleveland, and one he used at the podium following Tuesday’s decisive victory at The Q …

That business – to bring a title to Northeast Ohio after half-a-century of sports torment – has been James’ singular mission all season. And on Tuesday night, he got his squad one step closer to finishing it.

The Cleveland Cavaliers trounced the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals – 118-88 – sweeping the circuit’s top seed in four games and punching their ticket to the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history.

After winning an overtime thriller in Game 3, the Wine and Gold left nothing to chance in the close-out game: jumping on the reeling Hawks from the opening tip, running out to a 12-point edge after one quarter and not letting up until David Blatt emptied his bench with 5:26 to play and his squad up by 26.

”I told our guys at the guys at halftime – I said, our motivation for the second half is to get Joe Harris into the game,” smiled postgame James. “And they answered the call.”

After giving every ounce of energy in 47 awe-inspiring minutes of action on Sunday night, James – along with starters Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson – took the fourth quarter off in Tuesday’s Conference-clinching blowout. LeBron still managed to lead all scorers with 23 points in just 29 minutes, going 10-for-20 from the floor, adding nine points, seven assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

LeBron continued to rewrite the NBA postseason record books in the East Finals – becoming the first player in playoff history to average at least 30.0 points, 11.0 boards and 9.0 assists in a single series.

LeBron and the Cavaliers went to work early, opening a double-digit lead late in the first period and extending it to 20 with 5:25 to play in the first half. Atlanta got to within 15 midway through the third, but the Cavs quickly snuffed their rally and took a 25-point lead into the final quarter. Rookie forward eventually Joe Harris did get into the ballgame, and his finger-roll with 2:42 remaining gave Cleveland a 31-point advantage – its largest of the night.

After missing the two previous games while nursing left knee tendinitis, Kyrie Irving returned to the lineup and looked sharp in 22 minutes of play – finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting – including 2-of-3 from deep – to go with five helpers, four boards, a steal and a blocked shot.

Irving wasn’t alone in his effectiveness from long-distance. The Cavaliers went 13-for-31 from beyond the arc in Game 4, the fifth straight playoff game in which they drilled double-digit bombs. Defensively, they held Atlanta – the top three-point shooting team in the East during the regular season – to just 5-for-32 from downtown on Tuesday night; 26-of-111 (23 percent) for the series.

In his first foray into the postseason, Tristan Thompson continued his incredible run – finishing with his fifth double-double of the playoffs with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Since his insertion into the starting lineup following the season-ending injury to Kevin Love, Thompson has grabbed double-digit boards in seven of his nine starts.

J.R. Smith, not known for his rebounding, doubled-up for the second straight game – finishing with 18 points and 10 boards – going an even 7-for-14 from the floor, including 4-of-10 from three-point range.

After starting the previous two contests, Matthew Dellavedova – who’s been in the unlikely role of lightning rod over the past few days – came off the bench to net 10 points, two boards and an assist. His first bucket – a three-pointer midway through the first period that sent the sellout crowd into a frenzy – was only eclipsed by his last – a tip-in and the tax midway through the fourth that let Coach Blatt know his squad was out of the woods.

”I think that moment came in a very, very memorable one, maybe the greatest below-the-rim tap in the history of the game,” beamed Blatt. “(Dellavedova) wasn’t above the rim, but he made it look natural and he made it look special – just like that kid is.”

Timofey Mozgov notched double-digits for the third time in the four-game sweep – finishing with 14 points, seven boards and a game-high three blocks – his sixth playoff game with at least that many. As a team, the Cavs – the top shot-blocking team in the playoffs at 6.9 bpg – had seven swats on the night, the seventh time they’ve posted at least that number in the postseason.

Once again, the Wine and Gold bested their opponent on the boards – out-rebounding Atlanta, 56-39, in the game and, 208-157, in the series. In the postseason, the Cavaliers are a perfect 12-0 when eclipsing their foe on the glass.

Watch super slow-mo highlights from Game 4.

Turning Point – Unlike Sunday’s Game 3 thriller with its countless twists and turns, Tuesday night’s contest was over early. Atlanta took a 2-0 edge – its only lead of the game – on Jeff Teague’s layup to begin the affair. From there, the Wine and Gold went to work – taking a 10-point lead on Kyrie’s first bucket of the game and not looking back.

The Cavaliers – who’ve now dropped the Hawks in all eight postseason contests between the two teams – led by a dozen after one quarter, by 17 at intermission and by 25 after three quarters. By the time the fourth quarter began, the only question was how long Coach Blatt would wait before replacing his rotation guys in preparation for the Finals.

By the Numbers – 27.6, 10.4, 8.2 … LeBron James’ scoring, rebounding and assist numbers in the 2015 playoffs – leading his team to a postseason-best 12-2 mark and his fifth straight trip to the NBA Finals. LeBron and James Jones are the first players since the Celtics dynasties of the ‘60s to reach the finals in five consecutive seasons.

Quotable – LeBron James, on his outlook for the upcoming NBA Finals …

”The coaching staff will give us the greatest gameplan they can to win against Houston, to win against Golden State, but as far as guarantees, I cannot guarantee anyone. I can’t guarantee a championship. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to lead. But I will guarantee that we will play our asses off. We will, from the first minute to minute 48, or if it’s overtime, 53. We will do that.”

Up Next – The Cavaliers will take a day to celebrate their Eastern Conference crown before getting back to work in preparation for the Finals foe. The Golden State Warriors currently lead the Houston Rockets, 3-1, in their Western Conference Finals matchup – with the series shifting back to Oakland for Game 5. In the regular season, the Wine and Gold split their two games with the Warriors, falling at Oracle Arena before taking an 11-point decision in early February at The Q. Houston was the only Western Conference team to beat the Cavaliers twice this season – topping a LeBron-less squad at The Q and squeaking by Cleveland in overtime at the Toyota Center in early March.

cavaliers-pummel-hawks-punch-ticket-to-nba-finals

Cavaliers Pummel Hawks, Punch Ticket to NBA Finals

admin

If I could, I want to say something first, if I may. Thank you. If you'll indulge me.

I wanted to say congratulations to Coach Bud and to the Atlanta Hawks, who had such a fantastic season. They won 60 games and played great basketball over the year and deserve all the credit and all the compliments that they've received throughout the season. They do things right. We're awfully happy and awfully proud to have beaten them in the Eastern Conference Finals and to do so in a great manner ourselves. But a big congratulations to their program and to the coach and their players.

(Can you talk about what this means to you winning the Eastern Conference championship in your first year as head coach of the Cavaliers?):
I know it's hard for people to understand because they don't really know well my path and my career, but this also is a new situation for me and a new place for me.

LeBron came home. I left home to come here, and I left a lot of people that I love dearly and a lot of people that I'm close, so close to, in order to pursue a dream, in order to do something in my career that I hadn't had the opportunity to do. That's a big sacrifice on the part of my family and the place that I'm from.

It's special because it's all worthwhile. I came here. I got the opportunity to work with a great group of guys, with the best player in the world and maybe in the history of the game, with the wonderful management who's given us every opportunity to succeed and with fans who are so loyal and have been for so many years, who just want a champion. So it makes me very happy and very proud to be a part of that and to have this experience in my life. That's it.

(Coach, could you talk about, I guess, the good problem to have the pressure of the 51 years behind you guys and trying to end that streak.):
Growing up, I was a Red Sox fan. They went through about 100 years of pennant-less seasons. I always remember that. But I was also a Celtics fan, and we were winning championships at that time left and right. But what I found here is a wonderful sports town, really, really invested group of people in every respect, and a hunger for success, but not a pressure because you know they've always got your back one way or another and that's a good feeling. Because it hasn't always been easy and it's not always easy, and it hasn't been easy for the last 51 years waiting.

But we put ourselves in a position to have a shot at it, and we know that people are behind us, and that's part of our motivation.

(Could you even imagine what LeBron James could be to this city, to this area if he were to get that, to make that happen?):
LeBron said, and I think correctly so, we still have a lot to do, and we still have a goal to try to achieve, but at the same time, you have to enjoy this for what it is, too. How many teams win the Eastern Conference Finals? How many teams are in this position? How many teams have done it the way we've done it with all the obstacles, with all the difficulties, with all the challenges? This is special. For a day or two, we're going to enjoy that and appreciate that, and we're going to go back to work and try to accomplish the very thing that you're talking about.

(David, congratulations. Describe how you feel Kyrie did, not only in terms of how he actually performed on the court but in terms of how his body is responding, where he's at, and just how much you held your breath when he went out there and so on, just his performance tonight.): First of all, he did fabulously. Fabulously. He played beautifully. He moved well. He was impactful. But it's a lot bigger than that.

The fact that he came back to play, the fact that he wanted so badly to be a part of us winning this series and being able to move forward. He wanted so much to be with his guys and to contribute. You know what, Delly barely could get up off the bench today. He was very sick. And Kyrie playing not only the fact that he performed so well. We know that Kyrie is one of the top basketball players in the world. We needed his minutes. We needed him out there because Delly, as well as he played, he didn't have a whole lot more in him.

It was good for the guys, too. It was good for the guys to see Ky out there. And now the fact that we won tonight, that was one of the reasons that we really wanted to get him back tonight because we wanted to have this break to get him well, to let the other guys heal and come fresh for The Finals. And he stepped in there, and he really, really lifted us, did a great, great job.

(Coach, first a tip, if you're being away from home, lonely, LeBron might have some ideas about this): I never said I was lonely. There you go again. You're always putting words in my mouth. Why you got to do that?

(We're just hating.): No, that's all right.

(The second question, during the series, when Atlanta went small, you would go small. This time you stayed big. Mozgov kind of punished them inside. I was curious about that decision. You say it's a gut thing sometimes. Tell me why you did that and might you do that against Golden State.): Number one, Tristan has the ability to guard perimeter players as well, and we saw an advantage, and when we saw that it was working for us, we just played it, and we stayed with it.

Tristan and Moz have been terrific together, and when they're playing together with J.J. or Bron at the four, and tonight they just, they dominated the rim, they dominated the glass, and they did it pointedly, you know, very, very specific, small areas of the game, and did a great, great job.

(David, congratulations, first of all. Number two, I know coaches are never at ease until there's no more time on the clock, but when did it kind of sink in for you that you guys had this one and you got to absorb the energy in the building? How did that make you feel?): I think that moment came in a very, very memorable one, maybe the greatest below the rim tap in the history of the game, if you remember Delly's tip in. Now, he wasn't up over the rim, but he made it look natural, and he made it look special, just like that kid is. That's when I kind of relaxed.

(Coach, what is it about this team that has allowed it to overcome so much adversity, injuries, and speculation, and it's been one thing after the next. What is it about its character that's allowed that to happen and get to this point?): Well, it's a lot of things honestly. It's not one thing. We've got a terrific staff, a terrific group of coaches that are working hard every

LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith

(LeBron, when you came back, you said you had a plan, you had a mission. Obviously, that's almost accomplished, but can you just talk to me about your emotions and what it's like to actually be in this position right now after you know, even before you came here, you knew you had something going.):
LeBRON JAMES: My emotions, it's very emotional to be back in this city. When I made my decision to come back here, I knew what I wanted to do, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. It's going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of dedication, and it's going to be the toughest task for me to try to get this team back to The Finals.
I've had to step up my leadership. I had to be very patient, which I'm not very patient. I'm not a very patient guy, but I knew I had to work on that.
To be able to sit at one point during the season and see us at 19 20 and watching my team struggle and me sitting out two weeks, they wanted Coach Blatt fired, saying we needed another point guard, will LeBron and Kyrie be able to play together? So many story lines was just happening at that point in time. For us to be sitting at this point today being able to represent the Eastern Conference in The Finals, this is special. It's very special.

(LeBron, you yourself, I think, had said last summer that you kind of tried to lower expectations and you couldn't expect a ton in year one, and obviously there were a lot of changes, too. This was basically a brand new team on opening night. Did you think you could do this this quickly? And where does this accomplishment rank among I mean, it's five straight Finals, obviously, but where does this one rank in relation to the rest?):
LeBRON JAMES: Obviously, from the time I decided to come back to now, it's a totally different team. When I decided to come back, we had a No. 1 pick, and we drafted Andrew Wiggins. I understood that we were going to have a very, very young team, a very unexperienced team, and it's going to take a lot of patience and a lot of hard work to get to where I wanted to get this team back to.
Obviously, things happened throughout the season, throughout the offseason, that allowed us to acquire Kevin Love, and as the season started, to acquire J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov and Iman Shumpert that brought our team to a place where I felt that we could compete.
But I still thought we had to be very patient, I had to be very patient, being the leader of the team, but I knew we had the pieces that we can compete.
Where this ranks as far as my last four Finals appearances, I mean, it's special just because I think it's today, it's tonight, and to know how far we've come as a group, to know how unexperienced we are as a unit playing together, I think that's special in its own right. No matter what happens from here on out, to see what we've accomplished being a first year team together that's had different changes throughout the course of the season, that's faced so many obstacles throughout the season injuries here, transactions here, lineups here it's something we can be very proud of to this point.

(LeBron, when you made the decision to come back, how much did that 51 year departure from a championship come to mind? Do you think about that much? Perhaps being a guy that finally can end that in this city.):
LeBRON JAMES: I'm a guy who believes in unfinished business, and I understood what these people were going through, the people here not only in Cleveland but in Northeast Ohio and all over the world who love and bleed wine and gold.
I also knew there were a couple of guys here that were very special, in Tristan Thompson here to my left and also in Kyrie Irving at the time, that could help me get to a point where I've been before.
So to be at this point tonight sitting up here talking to you guys, like I said, it's very emotional and very just something I don't know. Could I foresee this? At the beginning of the season, I couldn't. I couldn't foresee us being in The Finals at the beginning of the season because I just knew that we just had to get better and I just saw how young we were and how young minded we were at that point in time, but I knew I had to lead these guys, and if they just followed my leadership, I knew I could get them to a place where they haven't been before.

(What do you have to say about what the city's been through?):
LeBRON JAMES: It's a hard working city, and if you work hard for this city, they work hard for you. They give everything back to you. That's what J.R. Smith to my right, Tristan here to my left, and the rest of the 12 guys in the locker room, we're just trying to work hard for the city, and they give it all back to us, as you saw tonight with 20,000 plus fans.

(LeBron, how did the journey of the season prep you to get here? As you mentioned, if you guys didn't lose games early, maybe you don't make radical trades. If you guys don't have injuries throughout the course of the season, maybe you don't realize the potential of all the guys on your roster. What about the path to where you are? How has that steeled you for these Finals?):
LeBRON JAMES: I don't know how many chapters we have in the book as far as this season, but there's at least five. Just from the start of the season to us making the transaction to acquire this guy to my right and then Shump and then Timofey, to us having injuries, to us getting to the postseason, to Kevin Love being out for the postseason, to Kyrie getting banged up and being out for playoff games we have so many different chapters to this season that's defined who we are.
But one thing we haven't got caught up in is feeling sorry for ourselves. It doesn't matter. If someone is out, the next man up. If someone is not 100 percent, then as a brother, you pick that guy up. That's what it's about. That's what it's about. That's what teamwork and trying to accomplish a dream is all about, being able to sacrifice yourself and what you can do for the better of the team. That's what's got us to this point.
Don't ask me another question until you ask one of these guys a question too, by the way.

LeBRON JAMES: Don't say, hey, LeBron, I'm from channel don't ask me a question. Ask these guys. Give me a break.

J.R. SMITH: I could have stayed in the back.

LeBRON JAMES: But you look good. You fit.

J.R. SMITH: I've never worn one of these before.

(I actually had one teed up for Tristan, but it starts with the word "LeBron", so if you'll allow. When LeBron came home, as has already been mentioned, he was talking patience. But when you heard he was coming back, is this what you thought of immediately, and did you think it could be this year?):
TRISTAN THOMPSON: I was just happy to be part of the team, just to have an opportunity to play with a great player like Bron. It just motivated me. Once he decided to come back, the first thing I did was call the coach and get in the gym and get ready because I know how serious he is about being successful and doing something special here in Cleveland. It just motivated myself, and I think it motivated all the guys that were on the team to just get better.
If you're asking did we think we were going to be here, it's too far down the line. I approached it day by day, just to get better every day and put myself in a position to help this team be successful.

(Tristan, if you go back to Game 4 against Chicago, the moment that LeBron hit that game winning shot, you guys haven't lost since then. Can you put into words what that shot meant and what happened in that moment besides just winning a game on the road?):
TRISTAN THOMPSON: It was an unreal moment. I was just hoping that I didn't put him to sleep with my choke hold. But it was definitely huge for us in that series, and I've been riding on the momentum and just getting better every day. This series here, everyone locked in and understood what it takes to beat the Hawks. Every guy came in there. Guys stepped up at different points of the series J.R., Delly, LeBron, myself. It's just what we have to do every night.

(Are you guys ready (laughter)?This is actually for all three of you guys. Could you describe the last couple of minutes when Perk and Mike and all those guys were out there. It was great to watch you guys excited, jumping up and down, enjoying and soaking in the whole moment. Can you talk to everybody about what that was like.):

TRISTAN THOMPSON: Sure, beauty before age. Guys came in and Big Perk always staying ready, Joe coming in and playing well. All the guys that checked in and did their part and just staying ready. You're happy to see those guys out there and going to work. Perk with that right hand hook, me and him going one on one every day in practice. For him to come out and make it happen, I'm just happy for those guys, for them to be a part of something special.
Swish, your turn.

J.R. SMITH: I mean, it's great. Fortunately for me, in my 11 years, I've been able to be pretty much every one of those guys, somebody who never got in the game, somebody who came off the bench, somebody who started, somebody who pretty much wore every hat on the court. So for me, whenever I hit a shot, whenever I do what I do, as well as these other two guys, when we see those guys cheering for us, it's only right that we cheer for them.
Even if it's at the end of the game and we're up by 30, whatever the case may be, we always cheer for our teammates, and we appreciate them because they come in every day and make us better. I come in every day and see Brendan Haywood on the treadmill, see Joe and Delly in the gym getting shots up, it makes you want to be better. If your 14th or 15th guy's like that, why couldn't the first five, six, seven guys be like that? That's why I do it.

LeBRON JAMES: My message at halftime I think we were up 17. My message to the guys at halftime was my mission was to get Joe Harris into the game. That's what I told the guys at halftime. I said, our motivation for the second half is to get Joe Harris in the game, and they answered the call.

(J.R., you guys hit threes all series at a very high rate. Could you talk about that and also about having Kyrie back.):
J.R. SMITH: It was great. First of all, having Kyrie back is one of the most important factors because he's a huge piece to this big puzzle that we have. I mean, it's great to see him out there physically moving the way he wants to move and do the things that he wants to do.
But as far as hitting shots, that's the type of team we are. We've got arguably one of the greatest players ever to play the game, and to penetrate and attack and do the things he does, all we've got to do is make open shots, and I think that's one of the easiest things in basketball to do is to make an open shot. So it's only right.

(Tristan, since the postseason, people have just raved about you and what you've been able to produce. What is it, what has it been about this stage that's allowed you to shine?):

TRISTAN THOMPSON: Just doing what I'm doing every night, just play hard and just outwork the guy that's in front of me, whoever I'm guarding; just don't have him beat me. I think also give a lot of credit to my teammates for putting me in position or letting me grab offensive rebounds.

TRISTAN THOMPSON: We can be greedy with rebounds. That's okay. Just doing my job, [ laughter ].

TRISTAN THOMPSON: Just doing my job every night and just playing hard. Giving 100 percent, punching the clock, doing the little things.

J.R. SMITH: @teamswish on Instagram, if you ever want to follow. Trying to get 2 million or so. Trying to catch up with LeBron.

(This isn't for you, LeBron.):
LeBRON JAMES: I was just looking in the right direction.

(J.R., the way where you were to start the season, obviously, coming here, I mean, how much of a godsend has it been to play with these guys for you?):
J.R. SMITH: It's unreal almost. I came out of the game, and I gave Coach a hug, gave Bron a hug, and all these guys. Then I look at Shump, and I just look in his eyes and see where we came, where we started from.
My mom was on the court when all the confetti and stuff, all that was coming down. She's like, talk about starting from the bottom, and now we here. So to be able to do this, I mean, it's unreal to be in this situation and this position. I could have been in a worse situation, but my prayers have been answered. I'm playing, like I said before, with arguably the greatest player to ever play the game. People that come in every day and enjoy what they do and work hard at what they do, like Tristan and the rest of the guys.
I'm in a great situation, and I just want to take full advantage of everything I can at this point.

(LeBron, from now until when The Finals start, the championship drought, it's going to come up again and again. It's such a weighty issue here in Cleveland, of course, 50 years. When you wrote the letter, of course, you kind of tried to connect back to the people here, and your Nike commercial connected you to everybody. Now that you're here, do you embrace kind of that 50 year drought? Do you use that to fuel what you guys all need to do or do you have to separate yourself from that pressure to be able to win?):
LeBRON JAMES: For myself, I think we all here know how long it's been since a champion has been in this city. I mean, you can try and not focus on it. You can try to say, okay, well, it's not about that. But we all know it.
The one thing that we can guarantee as a team, as a group, 15 guys, our coaching staff, people that travel with us on the road, whatever the case may be, that work every day, is we will give our best shot. No matter who comes out of the Western Conference, either Golden State or Houston, we're going to give it our best shot. Our coaching staff will prepare us the best way they can, and I will as a leader have our guys ready for it.
Win, lose, or draw, because you can't predict the future, you don't know what's going to happen, we will give our best shot. That's all from myself. That's all I can ask of my teammates. That's all I can ask of the coaches. And I hope everyone here understands that it's not easy. It's not easy to even get to this point. It's so hard just to win an NBA game, and the fact that we've won three playoff series so far, it is very, very difficult, and if you've never been in this situation, you don't know how difficult it is. The only people who can talk about it one of my best quotes or favorite quotes of all time is Theodore Roosevelt. It's called the Man in the Arena. I suggest everyone read it.
It's basically about, if you've never sweat or bled or been in an arena and having the dust go up in your face and never battled, you have no idea what it takes to be in the arena. So for me as a leader, all I can do is lead these guys, which I will do. The coaching staff will give us the greatest game plan they can to win against Houston, to win against Golden State, but as far as guarantees, I cannot guarantee anyone. I can't guarantee the championship. That's not what I'm here for. I'm here to lead. But I will guarantee that we will play our asses off. We will, from the first minute to minute 48, or if it's overtime, 53. We will do that.
At the end of the day, that's all I can ask for. That's all we can give. But we will be in The Finals, I can guarantee that. Appreciate it.

J.R. SMITH: By the way, that Nike commercial, I wasn't in it. They can add me in or something.

I would just like to start by congratulating Cleveland and Coach Blatt. They obviously played well. They deserved to win. Just congratulations to them and their entire organization.

Proud of our group. In the playoffs you learn and grow a lot, including in a night like tonight. It's not something anybody wants, but I think we've always talked about learning and growing each day, each experience, and I think throughout the playoffs we've done that. We'll learn from tonight, and we'll learn from this series, and we'll be better going forward. That's it.

(Coach, you guys shot 5 for 32 on threes tonight. You've had trouble shooting threes all series long. Was it just that you guys were cold you guys missed a lot of open shots during this game and other games or was it something Cleveland was doing that was causing you trouble on those threes?):
 Same answer as probably all year. I think it's a little bit of both. I think Cleveland's defense was good the entire series. And I think we had some open looks that we would take again that we need to make to give ourselves and our offense to free some things up if we make some threes.

(How successful was the season?):
 Yeah, I knew that question was coming. I think well, just after a night like tonight and going through the playoffs, I think in the locker room we just kind of talked about the playoffs, and we talked about our experiences in the playoffs.

And with a ton of respect to you and all, I would like to talk to our team about their season tomorrow or the next day, whenever it's appropriate, for our team to hear from me my thoughts on our season. After a night like tonight, you kind of just focus on tonight. You focus on the playoffs and the growth and the experience. Tomorrow we'll reflect on the season with the team, and we'll reflect on the season with everybody out here tonight or whoever's still interested. Obviously, it was a great season.

(Mike, outside of obviously the mounting injuries after the first couple of games, is there anything in particular that sort of alarmed you about the drop-off in your team's play and why it might have happened? Or was it just a matter of the moment of being in the Conference Finals?):
 I don't think it was the moment of being in the Conference Finals. I think things get more difficult. We had some opportunities, particularly Game 3, even with several injuries, and different things happening in Game 3, and we weren't able to get that game.

I think we need to shoot the ball well to be a team that opens up other things. I don't think we shot particularly well in this series. They shot it extremely well. Give them credit for making shots.

I think defensively we've got to be better. We can't just rely on shooting shots. Obviously, we weren't good enough. We didn't get it done in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I don't think it was the moment per se. They were just better than us in the series.

(Teams you've been associated with dating back almost a decade now have faced LeBron James in the postseason. From your perspective, anything that stands out about his development over that time and where he stands in the game today?):
 I think his confidence has gone to another level. Having watched and prepared watching how he orchestrates and, I think, has a great command for where he wants his teammates and what's important in the moment and the confidence that he has in himself to make the right play, whether it's making a shot, making the pass. As a leader, he's grown. His confidence has grown. He's a great individual player.

(When they jump on you that quickly right from the start, considering all that was at stake, can you put your finger on kind of why they were able to do that, especially early?):
 I thought we had two or three turnovers early that they turned into quick, easy transition baskets and put us on our heels, kind of out of the gate. Obviously, Kyrie Irving, I think, made his first couple of shots; got into the paint. I thought they just scored. Obviously, in transition it's easier. They scored a couple of easy ones. They scored some easy ones in the half-court, and we weren't able to match it. We were playing from a hole right from the beginning.

(Understanding you obviously haven't had a lot of time to process the series and everything, is it too early to ask you about what you think this team needs to jump to the next level?):
 Yeah, I think we'll I guess I would start with we're very this team has done a lot, and we have a lot of confidence in this team. We'll look to improve and look to get better, but bringing back this team would excite us, excite me. It's a hell of a group.

But I think any time you can find opportunities to get better, that's all of our challenges, and exactly what that means, I don't think tonight is appropriate. But I will say that this is a hell of a group, and to bring them back would be a huge priority.

(Coach, is there one thing that stands out as you were looking back at film over the first three games and that you saw out there tonight that really made the difference? Was it the rebounding? Was it just as simple as they had LeBron? Anything you could point to?):

I think the three point shooting has been pretty consistent for four games now. The offensive rebounding was a big part of the equation. Tonight I don't know. It's hard to say tonight how much offensive rebounding impacted the game. And LeBron James is a great individual player. He's the leader of that group and he sets a lot of things up for them, and they play well off of him. I think they're playing well defensively.

I think there's a reason they're going to advance. They're a very good team. They're playing very well right now.

(I just guess for both of you: Kind of what do you think went wrong tonight, especially with kind of all that was at stake?):
PAUL MILLSAP: They just outplayed us, simple as that. Stuck to the game plan. They came out firing on all cylinders. Playing from behind all game, it was tough. The crowd got into it. A good team just beat us.

(Jeff or either, how would you sum up the season? Obviously ended disappointedly, but overall, you guys did a lot of things pretty well.):
JEFF TEAGUE: Proud of everybody in that locker room. We had a great season. Guys played hard. We did a lot of things in Atlanta basketball history this year. We had a great season, won a lot of games, but we ended on a disappointing note, and I think everyone in the locker room is disappointed in themselves.
It's early for our team. It's only our second year together. We're looking forward to getting back in the gym and getting ready for next year.

(Game 3 after Al went out, the team was pretty resilient and hung in there emotionally and almost pulled an upset. Tonight Cleveland got up early, and you guys seemed to fade away pretty quickly. Would I be wrong to suggest that emotionally everything just kind of caught up to you tonight?):
JEFF TEAGUE: No. I think we were ready to play, just they played well. They made shots. Kyrie Irving came in and gave them a boost during the game, and I think they just fed off of that energy from the crowd; we just couldn't recover.

(Jeff, can this system, which performed exceptionally well, can it beat a superstar in a seven game series?):
JEFF TEAGUE: Yes, we've seen it. We have a similar system as the Spurs, and you've seen them win championships. So it's possible. You've just got to be able to play well all the time, and we didn't in this series.

(Question for both: What has been your biggest, I guess, takeaway or observation from going this deep in the playoffs for both of you guys?):
PAUL MILLSAP: This is my second time being here, but with a different team, different atmosphere, different everything.
It's been a good run. It's been a tough playoffs from start to finish for us. Couldn't really find our rhythm, but we felt like we hung in there and we fought. Things just didn't go our way.

JEFF TEAGUE: It was a learning experience for, I think, everybody in our group. It was new for me playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, and I enjoyed the whole run. We had battles in the first series, second series, but it was just an honor to be here. I think we enjoyed it.

(You guys just kind of talk about this as your second year together, but, Paul, you'll be an unrestricted free agent after this year. I wonder how much, Jeff, you're going to be in his ear to keep this group together? Is that important to you, Paul, as far as the strides the team has made this year, to build on that?):
PAUL MILLSAP: I think looking at different options, looking at this team, looking at what we've built thus far, I'm weighing my options. I can't make a decision right now. It's been a long series, a long year for me, for our team. Let things die down, cool off, relax, and then think about it a little bit.
But we're family. This team is close, and it will play a lot into the decision.

JEFF TEAGUE: I enjoyed every moment playing with him. It made me a better player. I think he enjoys being around all the guys, him and DeMarre. I'm looking forward for them guys to be back and get another crack at it.

(For either or both of you, do you think the Cavaliers have what it takes to go all the way now?):
PAUL MILLSAP: I don't know. They beat the No. 1 seed in the East. Maybe.

JEFF TEAGUE: They have some great players. So anything is possible when you get in a series. Somebody can get hot. So I don't know, maybe.

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Game Quotes: Cavaliers vs. Atlanta Hawks - May 26

clejcaione

ecf-game-4-trophy-celebration-may-26-2015

ECF, Game 4: Trophy Celebration - May 26, 2015

Listen to Radio Play-by-Play announcer John Michael's Call of the Game during Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks on May 26, 2015. J.R. Smith finds Tristan Thompson for the huge alley-op slam to give the Cavaliers a 77-57 lead. The Cavaliers won the Eastern Conference Finals by sweeping the Atlanta Hawks and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history.

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 Quicken Loans Arena de Cleveland, OH el 26 de Mayo del 2015. Los Cavs barrieron a Los Hawks para avanzar a las Finales de la NBA por segunda vez en la historia de Los Cavs. LeBron James fue el jugador mas valioso en la serie promediando un Triple-Doble en la serie. Dos de sus 23 puntos en el último partido llegaron después de conseguir un tapón a la defensiva y anotando la bandeja al lado ofensivo.

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Call of the Game: Cavs vs. Atlanta Hawks - May 26

ecf-game-4-cavs-vs-atlanta-hawks-may-26-2015

ECF, Game 4: Cavs vs. Atlanta Hawks - May 26, 2015

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Just to put things into perspective, Head Coach David Blatt was an English Literature major at Princeton University and even he is running out of adjectives to describe LeBron James – who seems to rewrite the playoff history books every time he steps on the floor. And to put Sunday night’s game into perspective, the last player to post numbers resembling the stat-stuffer James did last night was Wilt Chamberlain in March, 1968.

To do it in the dramatic fashion that he did – getting off to the worst shooting start of his career to finish with a mammoth triple-double, hitting the go-ahead three-pointer late in overtime, eclipsing Karl Malone on the playoff scoring list, defending his teammate at the postgame podium – is why he’s all-time NBA royalty at just 30 years old. But, like the rest of the other nine guys on the floor, he’s battling through some nagging injuries – not to mention logging a game-high 47 minutes on Sunday night and he'd love nothing more than to end the series on Tuesday.

And for final perspective, here’s what the four-time MVP is averaging in the Eastern Conference Finals: 32.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10.0 assists per contest.

What will he do for an encore on Tuesday night? The basketball world will be watching …

Think back to the evening of January 5, 2015. Having just lost a one-sided affair to the Mavericks at The Q to fall five games behind the Bulls in the Central, the Cavs traveled to Philadelphia to face the Sixers. That night, the Cavaliers announced the deal that would bring Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith to Cleveland. Who – (besides David Griffin) – could have known at the time that this early January deal would be the move to solidify the squad?

But the Wine and Gold’s dynamic backcourt duo has done exactly that – and their efficiency on both ends is what’s allowed David Blatt such huge flexibility. They’re each effective starting or coming off the bench and they play well on the floor together. Each can handle, shoot and defend.

After struggling from the floor in Game 1, Shump is averaging 15.5 ppg over his last two – going a combined 8-of-14 (57 percent) from beyond the arc – all while cross-defending Atlanta’s backcourt. Smith was unconscious in Game 1, cooled off in Game 2 and bounced back beautifully on Sunday night in Cleveland – doubling up with 17 points (including a huge trey early in OT) and 10 boards. Smith has notched double-figures in six of the seven games that he’s come off the bench this postseason, averaging 18.0 ppg during that stretch.

With Kyle Korver unfortunately on the shelf for the rest of the playoffs, this is obviously where the Cavs have the huge advantage over Atlanta.

Just because Kyrie Irving wasn't at the point for Cleveland on Sunday night didn’t mean that the Cavaliers didn’t get their share of production (and controversy) in his absence.

Still battling left knee tendinitis, Irving was a late scratch in Game 3.  He’s still listed as questionable for Game 4 at The Q and will probably once again be a game-time decision. With Irving on the mend, Matthew Dellavedova has gotten the last two starts, and they’ve been eventful – especially from Atlanta’s perspective.

On Friday night at Philips Arena, Delly dived for a loose ball and inadvertently rolled on Kyle Korver’s ankle, sidelining him for the duration of the playoffs. On Sunday night, Delly stumbled off-balance for a loose ball and bumped Al Horford’s knee on the way down. Horford took exception, elbowed Delly on the way down and was tossed.

Aside from the extracurriculars, the sophomore from St. Mary’s has been very good in relief of Kyrie. He went scoreless in Game 1, but affected the game greatly on the defensive end, holding the combination of Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder to 10 second-half points. He notched 11 points in Game 2 and 17 on Sunday night, going 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.

LeBron defended his teammate at length during his postgame media after the Game 3 win, adding: “If they're focused on Delly, then they're focused on the wrong thing.”

Atlanta is lovely this time of year, but the Cavaliers would be content to visit it independently over the summer and not return again this season.

The Wine and Gold are now 11-2 in the postseason – dropping one home game before Tristan entered the starting lineup and one road contest when Derrick Rose banked home a trey at the buzzer. In 14 tries after going up, 2-0, in a playoff series, LeBron James has never failed to close a team out. Getting Sunday’s Game 3 was critical, but the Cavaliers would love to wrap up the East Finals on Tuesday night and get Kyrie, LeBron and Shump some time off to heal up.

The Cavaliers still haven’t lost a playoff game to the Hawks in seven postseason meetings and they’ve been dominant at home since mid-January and through the first two rounds. In the playoffs, Cleveland is undefeated when outrebounding their opponent (11-0) – and they’ve dominated Atlanta on the boards through the first part of the series. Their 114-point output in Game 3 was a playoff high, and the Wine and Gold are undefeated in six tries when topping the century mark.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have flashed the best defense in the playoffs; Sunday night was the eighth time they’ve held a postseason foe under 41 percent shooting from the floor.

All these numbers add up to the Wine and Gold leading Atlanta, 3-0, heading into Tuesday’s matchup. The Cavaliers would love to produce one more set of numbers to send the Hawks fishing for the summer.

After uneven performances through the first two games of the East Finals, Al Horford – before his ejection – and Paul Millsap turned in some solid outings on Sunday night.

Before being tossed, Horford had 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting in just 19 minutes of action; Millsap had easily his best game of the series, following up his four-point effort in Game 2 with 22 points (going 11-of-11 from the stripe) and nine boards.

For the Wine and Gold on Sunday night, their big man pairing of Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson combined for just a dozen boards – six less than LeBron did on the night. That speaks more to the greatness of James and the way Atlanta is willing to let anyone other than Thompson beat them on the boards – sending two men to the fourth-year forward every time the ball went up. The Cavaliers still managed to beat up the Hawks on the glass and Thompson still grabbed the biggest rebound of the night – an offensive board that he kicked out to LeBron for the go-ahead trey from the corner.

The Wine and Gold snagged 19 offensive boards in Game 3 – most in a playoff game since 2007 – and are out-rebounding the Hawks, 50.7 to 39.3. If the Cavaliers can turn in one more performance like that on the boards, they can punch their ticket to the Finals on Tuesday night.

five-keys-cavaliers-vs-hawks-game-4

Five Keys: Cavaliers vs. Hawks - Game 4

clenadams

The Cavaliers will try to advance to the NBA Finals and go for a 4-0 series sweep when they face the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET.

When leading a series 3-0, the Cavaliers have gone on to sweep their opponent four times since 2007 (2007 First Round vs. WAS, 2009 First Round vs. DET, 2009 Semifinals vs. ATL, 2015 First Round vs. BOS). The Cavaliers have also won six straight playoff games (four on the road) and are 11-2 overall during the 2015 NBA Playoffs.

In Game 3 on Sunday, the Cavaliers edged the Hawks 114-111 in overtime to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the 9th overtime game in Cavs postseason history (6-3) and the first since May 26, 2009 at Orlando. The Cavaliers scored 114 points in Game 3, a 2015 playoff high, as they improved to a perfect 27-0 at The Q when reaching the century mark in scoring (regular season and postseason included).

The Hawks are scoring 15.9 points per game (238) off opponent turnovers in the 2015 NBA Playoffs. Atlanta has scored at least 11 points off opponent miscues in all 15 postseason contest.

Atlanta has had five different players record at least one double-double this postseason, tied for the second highest total in one playoff run in franchise history.

Get into the conversation with other die-hards.

Probable Starters/Status Update*presented by Cleveland Clinic

Status Update: Anderson Varejao, (Left Achilles Tendon Rupture, Out), Kevin Love, (Left Shoulder Dislocation, Out), Kyrie Irving, (Left Knee Tendinitis, Questionable)

Hawks: PG - Jeff Teague, SG - Kent Bazemore, SF - DeMarre Carroll PF - Paul Millsap, C - Al Horford

Status Update: (Hawks) - Thabo Sefolosha, (Right Calf Strain, Out), Kyle Korver, (Right Ankle Sprain, Out)

Cleveland hit a franchise-record tying 14 three-pointers in Game 3, and has now made at least 10 triples in four straight contests. Over the last four games, the Wine and Gold are shooting a combined .403 (48-119) from long range.

The Cavaliers have outrebounded the Hawks 50.7 to 39.3 through three games and are a perfect 11-0 this postseason when the team ties or outrebounds its opponent. The Cavs’ +5.8 edge on the glass (46.2-40.4) is tops in the 2015 Playoffs.

In the Eastern Conference Finals against Atlanta, LeBron James is averaging a triple-double: 32.7 points, 11.7 rebounds and 10.0 assists in 41.3 minutes per game. In Game 3, he collected his 12th career playoff triple (2nd-most all-time) after recording game highs of 37 points, 18 rebounds (career-high eight offensive) and 13 assists, to go along with three steals in 47 minutes.

In Game 3, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague each played more than 40 minutes and neither committed a turnover.

Teague also recorded 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds, one steal and one block.

TV: TNT, Radio: WTAM 1100, 87.7 FM La Mega, ESPN Radio

Be sure to tune into #CavsLive pregame show on FOX Sports Ohio starting at 7:30 p.m.

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

As mentioned, with a win in Game 4, the Cavaliers will advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in team history. In the event of a loss, the Cavs head back to Atlanta for Game 5 on Thursday at Philips Arena. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET. View Series Schedule

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GameDay Preview: Game 4 vs. Atlanta Hawks

Presented by:

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