CLEVELAND -- Avery Bradley's three-pointer danced on the rim and dropped with less than a second left and Boston -- blown out in the first two games of the NBA Eastern Conference finals and playing without star Isaiah Thomas -- stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-108 on Sunday night in Game 3 to end the defending champions' 13-game postseason winning streak.
Bradley's shot from the left wing -- off a play designed by Coach Brad Stevens -- bounced on the rim four times before going in. It capped a furious comeback by the Celtics, who trailed by 21 points in the third quarter before rallying to tighten up a series that appeared to be over.
"We have guys who have chips on their shoulders," Boston Coach Brad Stevens said. "We knew that Friday [Game 2] was a disaster. It wasn't worth all four. It was worth one. So we got back together."
Smart, who started in place of Thomas, made seven three-pointers and scored 27 points, and Bradley had 20 for the Celtics, who were given little chance after losing by 44 in Game 2 and then losing Thomas for the rest of the postseason because of a hip injury.
"Everybody had to step up their game tonight especially with one of our brothers down," Smart said. "Our love and support goes out to Isaiah. We wish he could be here but we understand. We just kept fighting. Everybody did their part."
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, and Kevin Love had 28 for Cleveland. The Cavaliers dropped to 10-1 in the postseason with their first loss since Game 4 of last year's finals.
Game 4 is Tuesday night in Cleveland.
LeBron James had one of the worst games of his postseason career, finishing with 11 points and six turnovers. On his way to the postgame news conference, James got into an exchange with a fan who heckled him about his rough night.
"I didn't have it," said James. "You let a team like that grab momentum you almost knew a shot like that was going in."
Despite James' struggles, the Cavs led 77-56 in the third quarter after making 14 three-pointers in the first half. Cleveland then got complacent, Smart got hot and the Celtics, who arrived at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday morning for their shootaround without Thomas, never gave up.
"We decided were going to go out and play hard, swinging." Bradley said. "We never counted ourselves out."
The Celtics tied the Cavs at 95-95 on Smart's three-pointer and then matched the Cavaliers basket for basket in the final minutes in one of the more entertaining games of what has been a mostly boring postseason.
Boston's Jonas Jerebko's baseline jumper put the Celtics ahead 108-106 with 30 seconds left before Irving scored on a drive to tie it with 10.7 seconds left.
Following a timeout, the Celtics executed Stevens' play and worked the ball to Bradley, who found himself open and knocked down the winning basket.
For Cleveland, the loss was a wake-up call on its march toward a possible third consecutive finals and a seemingly inevitable rematch with Golden State. The Warriors, who are undefeated in this year's playoffs, can complete a sweep of San Antonio tonight.
"I'm kind of glad it happened the way it did," James said. "We have to play a lot better. "I feel some adversity is part of the postseason. If it's going to happen, let it happen now. Let's regroup and get back to playing desperate basketball, which they did tonight. We've got to be a lot better for sure."
Sports on 05/22/2017