The NBA Eastern Conference Finals continues tonight with game four from Cleveland. We will have all of the latest updates and analysis so stay tuned all night.
Pregame
After the Boston Celtics pulled off the greatest upset in NBA playoff history in game three, they will try to even the series tonight in Cleveland. LeBron James will try to bounce back from his poor performance in game three and take control of the series. The Celtics fell behind early in game three but were able to shoot effectively in the second half and came out with the narrow victory. Tune in at 8:30 to TNT to see if game three was a fluke, or if this is going to be a competitive series. The winner of this series will face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Warriors finished off their four-game sweep of the San Antonio Spurs last night and will take some time off before the finals begin on June 1.
First Quarter
10:12- Lebron James settling for the jumper. Needs to attack the rim against Olynyk
8:50- Olynyk has missed two easy shots at the rim. Celtics need those to secure the upset
7:22- Celtics moving well without the ball and exploiting mismatches. Ideal start for them
7:00- James scores for this first time in 21 minutes of game time going back to last game.
6:20- Avery Bradley working open effectively in the offense. Irving struggling to stay attached
5:20- Some early foul trouble for the Celtics sees Jonas Jerebko making his first appearance of the game
4:17- Kevin Love with his signature outlet pass will maybe get LeBron going in this game
3:07- Cavaliers settling for jump shots. We have yet to see the Kyrie-LeBron pick and roll to get moving toward the basket
2:24- Don’t you feel like James could do that every play
1:42- Maybe a little too much shooting confidence there for the Celtics. Leave the outside shooting to your 29% guard next time.
1:00- That is the most excited I have ever seen announcers about a missed dunk
0:15- Iso-Olynyk with maybe a little bit of a push off. Still gets it to go as the first quarter ends.
Second Quarter
11:20- Bad plus-minus for Shumpert in game 3. Let’s see if this lineup does better this game
9:50- Celtics continue to try to muck it up and get easy baskets from chaos
9:12- The Cavaliers are doing a good job of contesting the three then leaking down for the outlet. It has worked for them about three times so far. Celtics guards need to get back in transition
8:55-LeBron is smart enough to not be a liability with the three fouls, but it is still concerning going forward
8:04- Kevin Love continues to be a first-half hero. Maybe his shooting will carry to later in the game
6:46- The refs made the tough call and now the Cavaliers will need to weather the storm
4:37-Irving will try to carry the offense, but somebody has to guard Avery Bradley
3:04- Olynyk could get called for a few holding penalties if this were a different sport
1:24- Same set a few times in a row for the Cavaliers. Offense centered around Irving
0:33-Bradley all up in Irving’s shorts. Irving will get his but Bradley making it difficult
HALFTIME- Celtics have to love where they are. If their hot shooting continues, they have a great chance to steal another game in Cleveland
Third Quarter
12:00- LeBron starts the second half and tries to not pick up his fifth foul
10:04- Not much movement for the Cavaliers off the ball as Kyrie has to try and play hero ball
8:10- Never thought you would say this game needs more Jonas Jerebko
7:30- Clearly the bank has extended hours tonight
5:52- Cavaliers not getting anything from their bench tonight, but Kevin Love trying to do it himself with rebounding and post-ups
4:14- Well that miss will be a meme tomorrow
3:35- The jab step of death puts the Cavaliers down by just one
2:09- Time to keep an eye on fatigue for both teams down the stretch as the bench players have not seen much time
1:47- Kyrie laces up his shoes tight to keep the swelling down. He should be fine for the rest of the game, but he needs to get some ice after once his shoe comes off.
0:53- Can’t take Kyrie out because the ankle will balloon up if he sits. He also is the best player on the floor right now. So for those reasons.
0:01- Nice quarter for Kyrie. Celtics need to find an answer or they will be heading home down 3-1
Fourth Quarter
10:53- Much better ball movement for the Celtics gets a great look from the corner
9:08-Kyrie heads to the bench, likely not for too long. The Cavaliers will try to keep the offense running without him.
8:30- Having LeBron certainly helps.
7:06- LeBron obviously is not too happy with some of these calls
6:19- Horford is not too happy with the calls either. No comment from this writer
4:44- James looks a lot more confident and not trying to force the offense.
4:20- Jonas Jerebko keeping the Celtics in the game
3:15- Jerebko says he is anti-flopping. I hope he sees that replay
2:20- Not much ball movement for the Cavs. Not that it matters with LeBron
1:51- “I need to walk it off,” says Kevin Love. You do that
0:24- Ballgame
