Irving Scores 42 As Cavaliers Beat Celtics 112-99 In Game 4, Take 3-1 Series Lead
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Celtics will be facing elimination when they return to Boston.
The Celtics fell to the Cavaliers 112-99 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland despite a strong first half. Boston held the Cavs to just 19 points in the first quarter, their fewest points in a quarter this postseason, and led by as many as 16 points in the second. Boston displayed some great ball movement in the first half, finishing with 17 assists on 21 baskets, and took a 10-point advantage into halftime.
But then the Cavaliers flipped the Game 3 script and staged a comeback of their own. Kyrie Irving took over in the third quarter, scoring 21 of his playoff career-high 42 points, as the Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 40-23 in the frame. Irving hit 15 of his 22 shots on the night.
"Kyrie Irving and LeBron James would be the two answers," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens responded when asked about the difference between the first and second half. "They were unbelievable. Irving was incredible at the end of the third, and then obviously LeBron had all those baskets in the fourth. I thought that we played, you know, as well as we've played maybe the entire Playoffs in the first half. We were really good defensively. Offensively I thought we moved and cut and played together, and then for whatever reason, all those things became a little bit more difficult. But that's what great teams do. They make it really hard on you."
James was whistled for his fourth foul with 6:46 left in the second quarter and watched the rest of the first half on the bench, the first time in his career in any game that he had four fouls in the first half. But the Celtics couldn't take advantage, never adding to their 10-point lead with LeBron on the bench.
James finished the night with 34 points, six assists and five rebounds. He wasn't called for a foul in the second half, which was to be expected, but the Celtics never really attacked him either.
After going scoreless in the fourth quarter in Cleveland's Game 3 loss, James scored 15 points in the final frame on Tuesday night.
"As we all know, a 10-point lead at halftime is nothing, especially against those guys," said Stevens. "But they deserve a lot of credit, those two guys are incredible.
"I'll go look at it and see all the things we did wrong, but I think it's more of a tip-your-cap kind of thing with those two guys," Stevens added of Irving and James' performances.
The Celtics, without Isaiah Thomas, had a balanced attack on offense, led by 19 points from Avery Bradley. Jae Crowder added 18 points while Al Horford had 16 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Turnovers were an issue for Boston in the second half. After turning the ball over just three times in the first half, they coughed it up nine times in the final 24 minutes. It certainly didn't help that the Cavaliers made the most of those extra possessions, shooting a ridiculous 71 percent in the second half.
The Celtics were outscored 65-42 in the second half, with Irving and James accounting for 48 of those points.
Now Boston will fight off elimination when the series returns to Boston for Game 5 on Thursday night. Cleveland took both games at the TD Garden to start the series,