NBA Playoffs 2015: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers Beat Boston Celtics, 103-95 in Game 3, One Win Away From Series Sweep

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are nearing a best-of-seven series sweep against the Boston Celtics after winning Game 3 on Thursday night to the tune of 103-95. James led the game in scoring with 31 points but the he also had great support from star teammate Kevin Love, who hit some clutch three-pointers and finished with 23 points and 9 rebounds.

James also ended up with 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots. Overall, he shot 50 per cent from the field (8/16 FGs) and had an even better percentage from behind the arc making 6-of-10 3FGs. The other star in the the Cavs’ “Big Three”, Kyrie Irving struggled from the floor shooting 3-of-11 for the night and had 13 points and 6 assists.

James was 2-of-13 in post-season games against the Celtics in his career before the game but made sure his team got this crucial victory. Game 4 is still in Boston, where the Cavaliers will aim for the sweep. They will face the winner of the Chicago-Milwaukee series where the Bulls are also leading 3-0 in the best-of-seven affair.

The Celtics, who were led by Evan Turner (19 points), Avery Bradley (18 points) and Jae Crowder (16 points) trailed 56-to-48 at halftime before making a rally in the high-scoring third quarter. The Cavaliers led again to start the fourth and the Celtics made another rally but Love and James were too much at crunchtime. Boston cut it to three, 95-92 with 2:45 to go in the game on a Turner three-pointer but Love answered right back with one of his 3s.

The Celtics had more points in the paint, 48-28 but had more turnovers, 15-11 and shot just 36-of-82 from the field for 43.9 per cent. Back-up point guard Isaiah Thomas was the missing link for Boston scoring just 5 points after a 22-point performance in the previous game.

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