Home NBA Irving’s third-quarter explosion helps Cleveland take a 3-1 lead

Irving’s third-quarter explosion helps Cleveland take a 3-1 lead

Photo Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Kyrie Irving was unstoppable in the third quarter and scored 21 points to help the Cavaliers make a come-back from a 16-point deficit (33-49) and earn the victory over the Boston Celtics (112-99), taking a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For the winners, Irving had 42 points on 15/22 shooting, with Kevin Love adding an extraordinary double-double (17 points, 17 rebounds) and Lebron James scoring 34 points (on 15/27 shooting) and dishing out six assists.

For coach Brad Steven’s team, which missed a great opportunity to tie the series, four players scored in double digits, with Jae Crowder having 18 points and eight boards.

Despite the Celtics’ win in Game 3 of the series (111-108), it was considered difficult for the visitors to win-back-to-back games on the road against Cleveland to reverse the situation.

That said, it was believed that, one way or another, the Cavaliers would overcome their opponents and advance to the NBA Finals to face the Golden State Warriors for a third straight time.

“It’s likely we’ll see another repeat in the NBA Finals, as it has been the past two seasons. Golden State has a solid team and is current favorite to win their second championship. Cleveland has pretty much won the series against the Celtics, with the odds completely in their favor, but they might not be that good for the NBA Finals. ” expressed MyBookie line director, Davis Strauss.

However, things were completely different in the beginning of Game 4 at “Quicken Loans Arena”. Boston made a great start to the match and closed the first quarter in front by 10 (19-29), executing very well on both ends of the floor.

Things didn’t change much later in the game, as the Celtics retained control of the situation and were up by 16 during the second quarter (33-49), with Cleveland managing to cut the deficit to 10 points, after 20 minutes in the game (47-57).

In the second half, though, the Cavaliers made a come-back. Thanks to their impressive offensive performance and with Kyrie Irving exploding (21 points in the third quarter), they outscored their opponents by 17 points (40-23) and turned things around (87-80).

In the last quarter, Boston tried to remain competitive in the game (98-92) and win the match to tie the series, however Love and James hit big shots (103-94, 108-97) to let Cleveland seal the deal and take a 3-1 lead, coming very close to the NBA Finals.

*Game 5 will take place on Thursday night in Boston.

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