BOSTON, MA – MAY 25: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers reacts in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the 2017 NBA Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 25, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
The NBA Eastern Conference Finals continues tonight with game five from Boston. We will have all of the latest updates and analysis so stay tuned all night.
Pregame
The Cavaliers bounced back in four to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. Lebron uncommonly had four fouls in the first half and the Cavs went into halftime with a 10 point deficit. Kyrie Irving went vintage Uncle Drew in the third quarter with a franchise record 21 points. This helped Cleveland seize the lead and Lebron helped finish the job with 15 of his 34 in the fourth quarter. It was the first home win of the series and the Cavs will look to close the series in Boston. Tune in at 8:30 to TNT to see if Cleveland will close out the Celtics or if Boston can extend the series to a sixth game.
1st Quarter
10:59: Love shows his inner Steph Curry with a pull up dribble in the face of Olynyk
10:45: Marcus Smart equals Love with a three of his own
10:27: Love seemingly takes it at a personal challenge and goes Kareem with a hook
10:07: Kevin is putting his imprint on the game early
9:18: Lebron gets on the board for his first two
9:07: James’ slices through the lane for another
8:44: Horford hits a bunny
8:08: J.R.’s first bucket is a dunk
7:28: Bradley catches J.R. slipping
7:15: Irving shows off his inner Rod Strickland
6:58: Jerebko shoots in Lebron’s mouth
6:13: Love’s shows off his post fade
4:47: Lebron drops Jerebko en route to the and-1
4:00: Bron babies Rozier to the rack
3:21: Thompson picks up an easy two
3:10: Rozier hits the 15 footer
2:46: Korver pump fakes into the triple
2:27: Kyrie euro steps into a nasty reverse layup
2:20: Rozier floats it up and in
2:00: Smart tries to shrink the deficit
1:32: Lebron jab steps into three in front of Cavs bench
1:02: Kyrie shows off his range
0:53: Bradley finishes contested layup
0:30: Crowder gets it over Thompson
2nd Quarter
11:33: Crowder out-muscles Jefferson to the rim
10:55: Deron Williams blows by Celtics
8:47: Yet another easy shot inside for Crowder
8:10: Horford literally mimics Crowder’s post shot for a similar result
7:50: Lebron skies over two Celtics defenders to corral a Love pass; collects himself for the lay in
7:23: Yet another Deron sighting from deep in Beantown
6:47: Horford seemingly get away with an offensive goaltending, Lebron lets the refs hear it
6:19: A Bradley three gets the Celtics crowd to their feet
6:10: Shumpert takes a page out of Manu Ginobili’s book
5:54: Jaylen goes hard to the bucket with little resistance
5:39: Deron finding a rhythm
5:07: Jaylen splits between Kyrie and Lebron for the and-1 finish
3:44: Lebron takes Bradely baseline and contorts his body for the finish
3:29: Bradley answers back with a three
3:20: Deron Williams drives to the rack with reckless abandon, gets the hoop plus the foul
2:45: Bradley finishes down low for two
1:15: Deron shows flashes of his all-star days and drives past two defenders for the deuce
1:01: Williams is unable to keep up with Bradley off the screen as Avery curls to get the easy midrange jumper
0:36: Bradley breaks free for the slam
0:16: Didn’t Bradley just dunk it like that… he could’ve at least tried to switch it up
0:01: Al Horford goal tends Kyrie’s layup to increase the Cavs lead up to 18
3rd Quarter
11:38: Kyrie makes shot over Crowder reminiscent of last year’s finals shot over Curry
11:15: Bradley pulls up for a mid-range jumper and sinks it
10:49: Irving leaves Bradley with broken ankles
10:34: Bradley answers with a three point snipe off the wing
10:17: Irving disrespects Avery’s ankles again
9:54: Horford shows off a sweeping hook
8:42: Irving pulls a spin out of his bag of tricks
7:24: Olynyk tries his hand at reverse layups
7:09: Lebron freight trains his way to the basket
6:39: Crowder gets faked out by James’ fake pass and gives up uncontested finger roll
5:22: Lebron slams and flexes for Boston faithful
4:49: J.R. would never use a pump fake to get to the rim, just to side step for a triple
4:29: Olynyk tries to stop the bleeding
4:03: Yes… Kyrie is still feeling it
3:27: Love joins the party with a deep triple
2:42: James passes Mike as the all-time scoring leader in the postseason
2:01: J.R. flies into crowd, and then proceeds to lick spilled beer off his arms
1:35: Lebron doesn’t hesitate
1:06: Lebron’s is going unconscious from down town
4th Quarter
11:06: Zeller makes what’s seemingly his first shot of the series
8:25: Shumpert rocks the rim on a reverse slam
7:55: Derrick Williams gets his midrange game going
7:04: Gerald Green finishes off the fast break with a dunk
5:53: Rookie Mickey sends Jones shot back to retirement
5:29: Mickey is rewarded for his block
4:51: Zeller gets his second basket of the series
4:12: D. Jones gets his revenge on Mickey
3:55: Jefferson joins the dunk contest
3:44: Green gets the plus one from behind the arc
3:18: Frye cooks
3:05: Green heating up, but its too late
2:34: Jefferson shows off his young legs
2:08: Young gets his points
1:46: Frye is cooking with grease
1:05: Young answers back
0:48: D. Jones steps back
0:22: Jefferson does the finishing touches
0:00: Cleveland advances to their third straight finals
