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CLEVELAND – The world expected LeBron James to dominate Game 4 for the Cleveland Cavaliers after a lackluster performance during Game 3.
The world forgot about Kyrie Irving.
Irving took over during the third quarter Tuesday night to erase all of the momentum Boston had built during the first half and to push Cleveland ahead 87-80. He scored 21 of his playoff-career high 42 points during the third period alone, highlighted by magical one-on-one moves, as he almost single-handedly turned Boston’s 10-point halftime lead into a seven-point deficit heading into the final quarter.
“Very unstoppable,” Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said of Kyrie Irving's one-on-one play. “He’s probably one of or the best one-on-one player in the league.”
Said James of the performance, “The kid is special.”
The Celtics, who are known for having multiple defensive stoppers on the perimeter, witnessed that fact first-hand. All of team’s top defenders attempted to contain Irving, but none of them had any success.
Marcus Smart tried to no avail. Terry Rozier gave it a shot but had no luck. Not even Avery Bradley, whom Lue called after the game the best on-ball defender in the league, could contain Irving.
“I think all of the counters (moves), and he’s able to shoot the ball,” Bradley said as he described why Irving is such a tough cover. “Can’t get into him too much, can’t back off of him. He’s a great finisher.”
Irving shot 9-of-10 during the quarter, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key to end the period that provided Cleveland with a wave of momentum.
To Boston’s credit, it battled to keep the score close for the remainder of the fourth quarter. With less than six minutes remaining, the Celtics held possession of the ball in a six-point game. The ensuing sequence, however, may have cost them a chance at a win.
Jae Crowder watched his a 3-pointer from the left wing rattle out and the Cavs took the ball the other way. With six seconds left on their shot clock, Kevin Love connected on a contested 3-pointer from in front of Cleveland’s bench to push the Cavs ahead by nine with 5:25 left.
That swing provided the Cavs with enough breathing room to hold on for the win, especially as James found his rhythm during the final quarter. James, who scored only total 11 points during Game 3, scored 15 during the fourth quarter alone as he applied pressure to Boston’s defense with constant off-the-dribble drives.
On the back of James’ play down the stretch, Cleveland pulled away for a 112-99 win.
The victory spoiled quite an effort by Boston during the first half, a half Brad Stevens described after the game by saying it was “as well as we’ve played maybe the entire Playoffs.”
The Celtics played relatively flawless basketball through the first two quarters as they pulled ahead by as many as 16 points. Eight C’s scored at least three points, led by 13 apiece from Bradley and Jae Crowder, and the team committed only three turnovers during the first 24 minutes of action.
Boston also baited James into foul trouble. The four-time MVP picked up his fourth foul with 6:46 left in the second quarter, which forced him to the bench and provided the Celtics with an opportunity to truly take control of the game.
Irving, however, kept the Cavs within striking distance by scoring 12 points during the second quarter, all before he took over after halftime.
“The thing that I would say is they still have two All-Stars on the floor,” Stevens said after the game of James being sidelined with foul trouble. “With the best player in the world they go to unreal, but they’re still a pretty darn good team when those guys (Irving and Love) are out there.”
Cleveland’s Big 3 combination of Irving, James and Kevin Love totaled 93 points, 25 rebounds and 15 assists during the game. The Celtics, following a drop-off during the second half, totaled 99 points, 29 rebounds and 26 assists as a team.
Boston now trails this best-of-seven series 3-1 as it heads back to TD Garden for Thursday night’s Game 5. The last time the Celtics took to the parquet floor, they were clobbered by the Cavs by 44 points. Bradley says that Thursday will be a different story.
“We owe our fans a better performance,” he said. “We know that, and we’re going to play hard. You’re going to see a team playing hard – very hard.”
The Celtics did so Tuesday night and were well on their way to victory by halftime. Then Irving took over during the third quarter, and James closed the door on Boston during the closing minutes.
These are just the type of things that can happen when a team has multiple All-Stars. Everyone expected James to be the dominant savior for Cleveland during Game 4, but it was Irving instead.