CAVALIERS 116, CELTICS 86
CLEVELAND -- Before taking the floor, LeBron James stood in the hallway with his teammates outside Cleveland's locker room and pounded his chest with both hands.
The Celtics got thumped next.
James had 27 points and 12 assists, Kevin Love added 14 rebounds and the Cavaliers looked like a different team on their home court, tightening the NBA Eastern Conference finals with a 116-86 victory in Game 3 over Boston on Saturday night.
Outplayed during two losses in Boston, the Cavs used a three-day break in the series to regroup and re-grip this series. With James leading the way, they built a 19-point lead in the first quarter, pushed it to 30 in the second half and overpowered the Celtics, who fell to 1-5 on the road in the postseason.
Any discussion of Cleveland's demise is premature. Kyle Korver made four of the Cavs' 17 three-pointers and Cleveland had six players in double figures.
"I also have to inspire my teammates to be better," James said. "They answered the call tonight and they need to answer the phone another time on Monday."
Game 4 is Monday night before the series returns to Boston.
Jaylen Brown was in foul trouble all night and scored just 10 for the Celtics after averaging 23 in the first two games. Jayson Tatum scored 18 and Terry Rozier 13 for Boston, which couldn't match Cleveland in any aspect.
"They took it to us," Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said. "Point blank: They just outplayed us."
Only 19 of a possible 300 teams have ever overcome a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs. James and the Cavs, who previously did it in 2007 and again in 2016 while winning the NBA title, took the first step toward a third comeback.
To return to the NBA Finals for the fourth consecutive year, the Cavs have to win four of five and re-write Boston's illustrious history. The Celtics are 37-0 when they win the first two games in a series.
"That doesn't bother me," Cleveland Coach Tyronn Lue said before Game 3. "The games have to be played. They won two games on their home court, which we know they've been playing well the whole playoffs, but we're not discouraged.
"So, 0-2 doesn't really mean anything."
Apparently not. The Cavs came in wanting to play faster and be more physical with the younger Celtics, who were the aggressors in Games 1 and 2.
Lue also needed more from point guard George Hill after two poor performances (8 points, 1 assist) in Boston. Hill responded with a driving layup to start the game and drained 3 three-pointers in the first quarter as Cleveland wasted no time taking control.
Hill finished with 13, J.R. Smith 11 and Cleveland's supporting cast played so well that James only had to play 37 minutes.
Stevens was confident his team would play better on the road than earlier in these playoffs, but the Celtics were shaky early, committing four turnovers and shooting 2 of 10 while the Cavs opened a 27-11 lead.
Before the game, Stevens downplayed his team's road issues, saying there was a "small sample size."
It got a little bigger, and a little more troubling. Still, he won't focus on Boston's road woes.
"In my 11 years as a head coach, I probably haven't talked about road and home five times with our team," he said. "It's about how you play between the lines. Because I think if you start talking about that, then you find excuses in both places. We can't play like we played tonight no matter where we played. If we would have played in Boston like that, we would have gotten beat."
At a glance
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
SATURDAY’S GAME
Cleveland 116, Boston 86
Boston leads series 2-1.
MONDAY’S GAME
All times Central
Boston at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
TODAY’S GAME
Houston at Golden State, 7 p.m.
Series tied 1-1.
Sports on 05/20/2018