ATLANTA, Sporting Alert – LeBron James knocked down a key fadeaway jumper with 39.2 seconds to go, and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semi-final playoff series on Sunday. Complete Box Score
The win saw the Cavaliers closing out yet another series with another sweep, and they can now get some rest for the Eastern Conference finals, while they patiently wait on the winner of the Miami Heat v Toronto Raptors battle.
“We know Atlanta is a tough team, and the closeout game is the hardest game,” said Cavs coach Tyronn Lue.
Podium mood. #ALLin216 pic.twitter.com/t9GnwYbOFL
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 8, 2016
Kevin Love had 27 points and 13 rebounds, James added 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and point guard Kyrie Irving finished with 21 points and eight assists for the Cavs, who made down 16 3-pointers on the evening.
“I think we hit our stride at the right time,” Lue said. “The last three or four weeks of the season we really started playing good basketball on both ends of the court, and it’s carried over.”
Tristan Thompson pulled 10 rebounds and Iman Shumpert scored 10 points for Cleveland, which won eight straight games in the playoffs this campaign, this after also sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the opening round.
“We’re in a great rhythm right now,” said James. “We know exactly where we want to be on the floor.”
Dennis Schroder led the Hawks with 21 points on 10-for-18 shooting off the bench. He had made back-to-back layups to put the Hawks ahead 97-96 with 1:31 to play, but the Cavs were not going to be denied.
Paul Millsap finished with 19 points, and nine rebounds for Atlanta in the defeat.
Thabo Sefolosha had 16 points and six rebounds and Al Horford supported with 15 points for Atlanta, which shot just 29-percent from long-range.
The Cavaliers, like the Golden State Warriors, have been setting the league on fire from 3-point-range in the postseason, and Millsap believes that has been one of the main reasons the Hawks were unable to matchup with the No. 1 seed.
“That’s where the league is going,” Millsap pointed out. “Three-point shots are a killer, man.”
The #Cavs shatter the All-Time @NBA record for 3s in a 4g playoff series w 77 v ATL.
The record they broke?
Their own..57 in 1st rd v DET.
— John Michael (@CavsJMike) May 8, 2016
GAMES NOTE:
Points in the Paint: Cavaliers 26 (13/32), HAWKS 50 (25/38) 2nd
Chance Points: Cavaliers 16 (6/13), HAWKS 14 (5/11)
Fast Break Points: Cavaliers 9 (2/5), HAWKS 5 (1/5)
Biggest Lead: Cavaliers 5, HAWKS 12 Lead Changes: 15
Times Tied: 9
