Cavaliers forward LeBron James spoke with the media following Friday's shootaround at Cleveland Clinic Courts as the Wine & Gold prep for Game 6 against the Celtics.
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GAME 7, baby.
It got close, but the Eastern Conference Finals’ underlining narrative carried through, and the home team got the win.
Led by a superhuman LeBron James performance, the Cleveland Cavaliers ran out 109-99 winners to force a do-or-die decider in Boston on Monday, May 28 (AEST).
James dropped 46 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, and iced the game for the Cavs, keeping the Boston Celtics at bay down the stretch.
Terry Rozier’s 28 and Jaylen Brown’s 27 allowed Boston to stay within striking distance, but it ultimately wasn’t enough.
Kevin Love left the game in the first quarter with a possible concussion, after banging heads with Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum, and never returned.
But with Cleveland’s role players stepping up at home, James got the help he needed.
George Hill had 20 points, Jeff Green dropped 14 off the bench, while Larry Nance Jr. was a surprise contributor with 10 points and seven rebounds in his 21 minutes.
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The Cavaliers took their first lead thanks to a James three-pointer midway through the second quarter to go up 34-33, and never gave it back.
After trailing by as many as sixteen, Boston were able to cut it to seven points in the fourth, before back-to-back stepback triples by James over Tatum put the game out of reach.
“Greatness,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said.
“Gave it his all. We needed that, especially with Kevin going down. He delivered. He carried us home as usual.”
James played 46 out of a possible 48 minutes, and didn’t get a rest until the final minute of the third quarter.
“It feels good just to be able to play for another game,” said the four-time MVP.
“Like I always say, Game 7 is the best two words in sports.
“For us to be on the road...where we’ve had no success up to this point, we should relish the opportunity.”
Neither team has won — or really gotten close — on the road this series; but James, who averages more points than any other player in NBA history in Game 7’s will have just one aim in sight: An eighth consecutive NBA Finals.
“It’s [Game 7] not going to be pretty,” Celtics’ Marcus Smart said.
“We’ve got to come out ready to get our nose bloody and our mouth bloody. We’ve got to come out ready to fight. You’ve got to find a way, whatever it takes.”
Game 7 is Monday, May 28 (AEST).
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- During Game 2 of the 2016 NBA Finals, Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love took a blow to the head, forcing him to exit early and miss Game 3 with a concussion. That's when Richard Jefferson stepped in, provided a nice lift, helped blow out the Golden State Warriors and didn't let Love reclaim his starting spot until Game 7.
It wasn't about Jefferson being a better player. No one would've argued that. It was more about the Cavs needing to play a different style to match the Warriors, one that required what Jefferson brought -- length, athleticism, defensive versatility -- more so than what Love did for long stretches.
There were flashbacks to that when Love collided with Boston Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum around the seven-minute mark of the first quarter during Friday's 109-99 win in yet another elimination game.
This time, mystifying Jeff Green played the role of Jefferson, filling Love's void.
"That's what we're supposed to do," Green said after pouring in 14 points. "It's the next man up and we have to do whatever it takes to win a game and when he went down the next man had to step up."
Let's make a few things clear: Love has not been diagnosed with a concussion nor was he placed in the league's protocol in the first few hours after the game so there's still a chance he can play in Game 7. The Cavs aren't better off in the long term without their second All-Star, a piece that's integral in their offensive approach most nights and has maybe become underrated playing in Cleveland.
They are, however, forced to be a different team without him. And in this particular matchup against the young Celtics, different may be exactly what the Cavs need.
That seemed to be the case when Green took over. This series demands someone with his skill set -- quickness, length, athleticism and versatility. He was able to bring the ball up the court and push the pace. He also attacked the Celtics off the dribble when the Cavs needed an offensive jolt.
Green's not as gifted, but if Love isn't knocking down outside shots consistently or scoring efficiently in the post, which he hasn't in the first five games, his flaws become tougher to ignore.
In Game 6, Love was off to another frustrating start, missing all three of his shots and providing very little on defense. Then came the injury.
In this series, one that's incredibly similar to Round One against Indiana, Love is averaging 12.5 points on 37.5 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from 3-point range. He's also averaging as many turnovers (2.3) as assists and the Cavs are being outscored by 7.4 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.
That individual net rating is the second worst on the team against the Celtics, in front of just Rodney Hood -- who was booted from the rotation because of his continued struggles. Some matchups are just more difficult for Love than others. He's also been miscast as a second scoring option, forced into the role after Kyrie Irving demanded a trade last summer.
With Love in the locker room, the Cavs were able to switch at every position -- a 1-5 defensive scheme they adore -- without worrying about anyone getting exploited.
"I think when Jeff is in there playing that position, it makes you more versatile defensively," Lue said. "But we miss (Kevin's) rebounding. We miss his offensive ability. It kind of all cancels out. But we did start switching more. I thought we did a good job with that.
"I thought we did a good job with our double teams when they had mismatches in the post. We timed it perfect and we got some 24-second violations, a couple turnovers. It looked good. We've got to continue to keep getting better at it. But I thought for the first time using it in this series, I thought the guys did a good job with it."
Al Horford no longer had a target to attack and stumbled to a six-point night on just 2-of-8 from the field in 37 unproductive minutes. Aron Baynes, the burly center who provided Boston a nice counterpunch when the Cavs put Tristan Thompson in the starting lineup, couldn't stay on the court for long stretches alongside Horford.
Without Baynes anchoring the defense, playing 10 fewer minutes than Game 5, LeBron James and other Cavaliers were able to get into the paint more frequently.
The Cavs also pounded the downsized Celtics on the boards, winning the overall battle by 13 and finishing with 11 more second-chance points.
It was offensive rebounds -- grabbing 40 percent of their missed shots -- and James that steered the Cavs to a win Friday night.
Larry Nance Jr., one of the beneficiaries of Love's short night, pulled down a team-high four offensive boards. It was clear that his quickness, leaping ability and energy were problematic for the Celtics. It's the third straight game he's made an impact, earning Lue's trust after getting just four minutes of mop-up duty in the series opener. Nance played a series-high 22 minutes in the Game 6 win.
"It's all about the fight, all about the toughness," Nance said. "Every possession matters. Whether it's after timeout, the first possession of the game or the first possession of the quarter. One play can change the whole game and you've just got to be keyed in on all our coverages and all the plays we're running. The playoffs is a different animal."
It's fair to wonder whether Nance, who was out there the entire fourth quarter and has developed incredible chemistry with James, would have gotten the same amount of playing time with Love healthy.
Would Green have started the second quarter alongside James, part of a defensive-minded group that went on a 20-4 surge to completely change the game?
Would James have attacked the defense relentlessly or deferred to Love, hunting mismatches and forcing the ball to him in the post -- a tactic that hasn't been nearly as effective as they anticipated?
Would Lue have tried to rest James more, believing Love would anchor the offense in those moments, and making the Cavs vulnerable to a Boston push?
These questions are tough to answer. They're all hypothetical. But what we do know is Love exited early in the first quarter and the Cavs outscored the Celtics by 14 points in the 43 minutes after that.
That's a testament to Nance, Green, James and George Hill -- the four players that stepped up and reached double figures. That's been the Cleveland way this season, overcoming countless obstacles and nonstop injuries.
But it also raises plenty of questions going into Game 7 -- even if Love can play.
It was win or go home for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they welcomed the Boston Celtics into Quicken Loans Arena on Friday night, and they are not going home. Instead, the series will head back to Boston for a winner-take-all Game 7, with a trip to the NBA Finals on the line.
It was a frantic, physical game, with Kevin Love and Jayson Tatum clashing heads in the opening few minutes. The blow knocked Love out for the remainder of the night. Later, Terry Rozier suffered a nasty sprained ankle, and LeBron James appeared to suffer a leg injury of some sort.
But in the end, the Cavs were able to pull away for a 109-99 victory to tie the series at 3-3. LeBron James -- who else -- led the way with 46 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.
Game 6: Cavaliers 109, Celtics 99
Unlike the first two games in Cleveland, the first quarter in Game 6 went the Celtics' way, as they got 15 points from Jaylen Brown to take a 25-20 lead.
Jaylen Brown has stepped up early!
15 PTS on 6-8 shooting in the 1st. #NBAPlayoffs | #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/VbLDbAyqa9 — NBA (@NBA) May 26, 2018
Unfortunately, there was a nasty clash of heads between Jayson Tatum and Kevin Love, which sent the Cavs power forward to the locker room. The Cavs later announced that Love would not return so that he could be evaluated for a concussion.
UPDATE: Per #Cavs Kevin Love experienced a hit to the head. Is continuing to be evaluated for a concussion & so as a precaution, he will be held out of play for the remainder of tonight’s game. — Allie Clifton (@FSOAllieOop) May 26, 2018
The Cavaliers, however, turned things around in the second quarter. The first play was a massive alley-oop from LeBron to Jeff Green, and the Cavs never looked back from there. They turned the five-point deficit into an 11-point lead at the half. "The King" played the entire first half, finishing with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.
In the third quarter, the Cavs looked at times like they would pull away, but the Celtics were able to keep things from getting out of hand. They started to knock down some shots and were able to cut the deficit back down to 10 points at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter was a frantic, back and forth affair. The Celtics kept fighting, often cutting the lead under double digits. But they were never able to get closer than seven points, as the Cavs always had an answer on the offensive end. Eventually, LeBron hit a few dagger 3s to slam the door shut.
7 point game!
Tatum slams home on the break to cut the lead to 97-90.#NBAPlayoffs | #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/Akx4qPLz81 — NBA (@NBA) May 26, 2018
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2018 NBA Playoffs Bracket
