Celtics-Cavaliers Game 3 Live Blog: Cavs Take 3-0 Series Lead With 103-95 Win
BOSTON (CBS) -- Follow along for all the updates from Celtics-Cavaliers Game 3 at TD Garden!
Final -- Cavaliers 103, Celtics 95:
The Celtics are in a really, really big hole now.
Despite putting up yet another good fight against the Cavaliers and their trio of stars, Boston finds themselves down 3-0 in the series after Cleveland took Game 3, 103-95, at the TD Garden.
LeBron James had 31 points, 11 rebounds and four helpers, but Kevin Love was the real Celtics killer. Love started early and came up big late, finishing with 23 points. He drained six three pointers, including two in the final 2:13 to keep the Celtics from coming back.
Isaiah Thomas struggled for Boston, going just 2-for-9 from the floor and finishing with five points. Avery Bradley also struggled mightily, shooting 7-for-18 from the floor.
That sets up a win or stay home Game 4 on Sunday. The Celtics never quit in this one, and won't quit on Sunday either. But at this point, the Cavs are just too much for the star-less Celtics to handle.
4th Quarter, 26.7 -- Cavaliers 101, Celtics 93: That will do it folks, unless Brad Stevens has one heck of an after time-out play.
Kevin Love drained another three off yet another Cleveland offensive rebound, and the Cavs are back up by eight with less than 30 seconds to go.
4th Quarter, 1:11 -- Cavaliers 98, Celtics 93: Jae Crowder goes 1-for-2 at the line to make it a five-point game, but Boston is running out of time in this one.
They're going to need a huge defensive stop right here. But one thing is absolutely certain if you didn't already know this: There is no quit in this Celtics team. No. Quit.
4th Quarter, 1:55 -- Cavaliers 98, Celtics 92: The Cavs quickly doubled their lead though with a Kevin Love three -- off an offensive rebound.
It's Cleveland's 10th offensive rebound of the night.
4th Quarter, 2:25 -- Cavaliers 95, Celtics 92: An Evan Turner three has Boston to within three!
4th Quarter, 3:04 -- Cavaliers 95, Celtics 89: Jae Crowder just worked LeBron into an over-and-back call, giving the Celtics the ball and a chance to cut into Cleveland's lead as we near the three-minute mark.
Crowder just won't quit in this one. Hopefully his teammates follow his lead.
This followed a miss by Avery Bradley, who is 6-for-17 on the night. Yuck.
4th Quarter, 4:45 -- Cavaliers 93, Celtics 87: A three-point play by Jae Crowder has Boston within six. If there was ever a time for a run, now is it.
4th Quarter, 6:11 -- Cavaliers 91, Celtics 84: Tristan Thompson just found out the hard way that you don't mess with Gigi.
The two got tied up underneath the basket going for a loose ball, and Gigi took control. Thompson was called for a foul on the play, his fourth of the evening.
By the way, LeBron has seven of Cleveland's nine points in the quarter. He's up to 31 for the game.
4th Quarter, 7:28 -- Cavaliers 91, Celtics 82: But a long two from LeBron makes it a nine point game again. The fans are just dying for another Celtics run.
4th Quarter, 7:50 -- Cavaliers 89, Celtics 82: How about a little Gigi to Jonas! Datome hit Jerebko underneath for a pretty two, and the C's are back within seven.
4th Quarter, 8:57 -- Cavaliers 88, Celtics 78: LeBron has that look in his eyes...
James has all four of Cleveland's points to start the fourth quarter, and will be at the line for two free throws after this break in action.
James picked up a big offensive rebound for Cleveland, their ninth of the game, and then drove to the basket, drawing contact from Marcus Smart and Luigi Datome, with Gigi getting hit with the foul.
End 3rd Quarter -- Cavaliers 84, Celtics 76: Somehow the Celtics are still hanging around in this one.
Isaiah Thomas has just three points in his 18 minutes on the floor, and has hit just one of his eight shots.
Evan Turner had three turnovers in the third quarter, and the Cavs have turned 11 Boston miscues into 19 points. Cleveland has 10 turnovers, but the Celtics have scored just 10 points off of them.
Also, the Cavs hit five threes in the frame. The Celtics might want to play some perimeter defense over the final 12 minutes.
Still, the Celtics are just one good run away from being back in this. Sustaining that run, and overtaking the Cavaliers, has been a problem all night though.
3rd Quarter, 1:38 -- Cavaliers 79, Celtics 74: Jae Crowder just hit a big three, pulling the Celtics to within five points.
That came after J.R. Smith hit a ridiculous fade over Marcus Smart, who was playing some solid defense.
3rd Quarter, 2:38 -- Cavaliers 77, Celtics 71: A Kevin Love 3 has been changed to a long two, so that's good news for the Celtics.
3rd Quarter, 4:16 -- Cavaliers 75, Celtics 66: The Cavs are on another 8-0 run, and are back up to a nine-point advantage. Kevin Love just drained his fifth three of the night, giving him 18 points for the contest.
Brad Stevens has cleared his bench, with Crowder the only second-half starter still in there.
3rd Quarter, 6:56 -- Cavaliers 67, Celtics 66: What an up-and-down game for the Celtics.
Jonas Jerebko came up with a nice steal on LeBron, and hit Bradley running down the floor. Bradley was fouled by Love on his way to the basket, and knocked down both free throws to pull Boston to within one again.
Now they just need to keep the Cavs from going on another run.
3rd Quarter, 7:54 -- Cavaliers 67, Celtics 60: LeBron James picked off a cross-court pass by Turner and took it in for a nice windmill jam. If you didn't see it, you'll see it on SportsCenter over, and over, and over, and over again leading up to Sunday.
3rd Quarter, 9:35 -- Cavaliers 59, Celtics 56: LeBron just got Crowder on a little Paul Pierce up-fake to put Cleveland back on top and end Boston's run.
3rd Quarter, 9:37 -- Cavaliers 56, Celtics 56: We're all tied up after the Celtics start the quarter on an 8-0 run!
Start of 3rd Quarter: Brad Stevens has done some lineup tinkering, with Jae Crowder in for Marcus Smart and Jonas Jerebko in for Brandon Bass.
Halftime -- Cavaliers 56, Celtics 48: The Celtics had just made things interesting, taking a four-point lead, but the Cavs are just a well-oiled machine.
The Cavaliers closed the first half on a 12-0 run, with nine of those points coming in just the final 1:02. They were led by eight points from LeBron James, and take an eight-point lead into the locker room. James has a game-high 17 points on 7-for-14 shooting, with Kevin Love checking in with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Boston has done a good job in containing Kyrie Irving though, who has just three points in this one, all from the charity stripe.
Bradley is struggling from the floor, shooting 4-for-12, but leads the way with 10 points. Isaiah Thomas has struggled as well, going 1-for-6 from the floor with just three points. The Celtics will need at least one of them to get going in the second half.
The Celtics showed a lot of fight in the second quarter and started to make stops, but the Cavs completely took over in the final minutes. The Celtics are going to have to come out very strong in the second half if they want to avoid a 3-0 hole in this series.
Meanwhile, the NBA has tweeted out an explanation of Evan Turner's Flagrant 1 call:
2nd Quarter, 29.3 -- Cavaliers 52, Celtics 48: After the Celtics took a four-point lead, the Cavs have ripped off an 8-0 run.
LeBron has just two of those last eight points for Cleveland, but will be at the line for at least two shots. Officials are checking a foul by Evan Turner to see if it was flagrant or not.
2nd Quarter, 2:53 -- Celtics 45, Cavaliers 44: Bodies are flying everywhere in this one. Kyie Irving just picked up his second foul after hitting Isaiah Thomas on the head after Thomas picked up a loose ball.
Avery Bradley gave Boston their one-point lead with a 14-footer off of a Brandon Bass block on Irving. Cleveland's point guard is 0-for-2 from the floor, with all three of his points coming at the free throw line.
2nd Quarter, 4:26 -- Cavaliers 44, Celtics 43: The Celtics just forced their third jump ball in the quarter. You can't say there's a lack of effort from the C's in this frame.
The crowd is alive and loving every second of this one now.
2nd Quarter, 5:20 -- Celtics 41, Cavaliers 41: Kyrie Irving wasn't a fan of of a foul under the basket by Jerebko, and started a little tussle over it. Really, it's your just typical NBA play, and the refs saw it that way too.
Jerebko was whistled for a foul, but J.R. Smith got tagged with a technical because he did something that only J.R. Smith things is smart, which Avery Bradley knocked down to give Boston a 41-40 lead.
But Irving hit one of his two freebies, and we're all knotted up once again.
2nd Quarter, 5:56 -- Celtics 40, Cavaliers 38: The Celtics have their first lead thanks to some nice D by Evan Turner.
Turner came up with a steal at mid-court, and went the distance for a nice layup (the Cavs were called for a goaltend). They're the first two points of the game for Turner.
2nd Quarter, 6:20 -- Celtics 38, Cavaliers 38: And the building has come alive, thanks to a 9-2 Boston run that has this game tied at 38-38.
Tyler Zeller made a nice driving layup off a nice pass from Turner, drawing a foul from J.R. Smith. Avery Bradley knocked down another jumper, and Zeller knocked down a deep 2 of his own off some nice defense by Boston on the other end.
2nd Quarter, 7:46 -- Cavaliers 38, Celtics 31: You've gotta love Jae Crowder's motor.
He just tied up with Mozgov, forcing a jump ball, and the Celtics came away with it. They missed their first attemtp, but Zeller came down with the offensive rebound, followed by another offensive rebound by Jerebko, and it ended with a foul on Love.
The crowd is just waiting for a reason to come to life.
2nd Quarter, 8:36 -- Cavaliers 36, Celtics 31: Thank you Timofey!
Marcus Smart's shot selection makes you absolutely cringe sometimes, but the Cleveland center bailed the rookie out by fouling him at the top of the arc on a three-point attempt. It's just the sixth team foul on the Cavaliers, while the Celtics have 11.
Everyone who has seen the floor for the Celtics has a foul, except for Brandon Bass, who has played a team-high 10 minutes. Go figure.
Smart hit two of his three free throws to pull the Celtics within five.
2nd Quarter, 9:17 -- Cavaliers 36, Celtics 27: LeBron James is 4-for-10, including a number of missed layups, but the Cavaliers are still up by nine.
The Celtics cannot be happy with their start right now, missing out on a big chance to take advantage of LeBron's "struggles."
2nd Quarter, 10:50 -- Cavaliers 33, Celtics 27: LeBron is still attacking the basket, but luckily he missed one of his two attempts in the early goings of the second quarter.
The Celtics need to put a body between LeBron and the basket when he gets a full head of steam like that. It might not feel great tomorrow, but the crowd would lose it if James was whistled for a charge.
End 1st Quarter -- Cavaliers 31, Celtics 25: Jonas Jerebko's inbound to Kelly Olynyk under the basket was picked off, and there was no last-second magic from the Celtics to end the first quarter.
After scoring six early points, LeBron got a nice breather on the bench to close the quarter. It was Kevin Love's quarter anyways, with the forward dropping nine points and pulling down three rebounds for Cleveland.
Cleveland shot 11-for-21 for the quarter.
Sullinger was a difference-maker off the bench for Boston, chipping in with six points and four rebounds, but is back on the bench with a pair of fouls. Avery Bradley has five points, but that's off 2-for-7 shooting.
The Celtics are hanging around, but you would have expected a much more energetic start in from of their home crowd.
1st Quarter, :01.5 -- Cavaliers 31, Celtics 25: Boston will get one last shot in the first quarter, with Brad Stevens mapping up a play on the sidelines right now.
1st Quarter, :21.6 -- Cavaliers 31, Celtics 25: The Celtics are going with the hack-a-Thompson strategy early. But Thompson hit both free throws, so that might not work out as well as they hoped.
Kelly Olynyk just checked in, making him the 11th Celtic to play in this game.
1st Quarter, 1:42 -- Cavaliers 26, Celtics 21: Game 1 belonged to Kyrie Irving. Game 2 was LeBron's (with some Kyrie sprinkled in). Game 3 is starting to look like a Kevin Love game.
The Cavs forward is leading the way with nine points to go with three rebounds and two assists.
The Cavs as a team are shooting 50 percent from the floor, but still only have a five-point advantage.
Jared Sullinger just picked up his second foul, which is too bad because he's been solid off the bench. Sully has six points and four rebounds in just five minutes.
1st Quarter, 3:27 -- Cavaliers 19, Celtics 17: It didn't take long for Tristan Thompson to get his first offensive rebound.
He corralled a Kevin Love miss from the corner and found the forward, who was fouled on his way to the basket.
Luckily, Love missed both free throws and the game scoreboard still says 19-17 Cleveland.
1st Quarter, 4:59 -- Cavaliers 19, Celtics 17: Make that two straight shots for Bradley (before he missed a fast break layup).
LeBron was also blocked down low by Sullinger, and complained about it while the Celtics ran a fast break up the floor. Bradley missed the layup though, and a chance to tie this one.
1st Quarter, 6:17 -- Cavaliers 15, Celtics 13: Avery Bradley has hit a shot! The C's guard drained a three to pull Boston back within two.
Jared Sullinger and Isaiah Thomas have checked in for Boston.
1st Quarter, 7:03 -- Cavaliers 15, Celtics 10: We've got our first timeout of the game, with the Cavaliers up by five.
LeBron and Marcus Smart both have six points in the early goings of this one. Kyrie Irving has yet to take a shot for the Cavaliers.
Avery Bradley is off to another rough start, missing all of his first three shots.
1st Quarter, 7:56 -- Cavaliers, 12, Celtics 10: After Mosgov completed a three-point play to put the Cavs up by five, Marcus Smart had a three-point play of his own.
The rookie hit a nice floater and made the freebie to pull the Celtics within two.
LeBron is getting booed every time he touches the ball, but you can probably hear that on your own.
1st Quarter, 8:14 -- Cavaliers 12, Celtics 7: The Celtics are settling for jumpers right now, while the Cavs are attacking the basket.
Cleveland has started the game 5-for-8, while Boston is just 3-for-7.
Pregame 7:07 pm: More boos for the Cavaliers as they're introduced. The fans are showing no love for Kevin Love, who they may be trying to woo later this summer.
Pregame: 7:02 pm: Hopefully fans got the memo that this was a 7pm start, because it's still kind of empty in the Garden.
The Celtics have played their best in the opening quarter, so they may want to get to your seat sooner rather than later.
Pregame 6:51 pm: LeBron and the Cavaliers have taken the floor, and were greeted with a nice round of boos from the Garden faithful.
They're going to hear a lot of that tonight.
Pregame 6:40 pm: The Garden still remains pretty empty, but fans are shuttling in from all their pregame activities in the masses, so that should change very soon.
Evan Turner has only experienced the postseason Garden as an opponent, playing the C's as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2012, but he's excited to have all those fans on his side this time around.
"It's crazy for sure," Turner said Wednesday. "The fans are crazy during the season, so the playoff time it's even crazier. Lot of energy and it's definitely fun to be a part of."
Turner added that the fans can be a big factor for opposing teams.
"I think the biggest thing is it kinda throws off some play calls and your momentum, and you have to be really strong as a team to communicate," he said.
Again, the fans can only do so much and it's up to the Celtics to play the near-perfect game that's needed to beat Cleveland, but the Garden should be a factor if the game remains close.
And even if it isn't close, the fans are still going to give it their all. Remember back to LeBron's big game with Miami, when C's fans chanted "Let's Go Celtics" in full force for the final minutes of the game? Expect the same for this team, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.
Pregame 6:14 pm: The Cavaliers are in a whole world of trouble. Not only is Adolfo in his Green Man suit, but there are multiple Wallach Heads heading into the Garden for tonight's game:
NEVER underestimate the power of the Wallach Head. Never.
Pregame: There is little doubt the TD Garden will be rocking tonight.
It's been 720 days since the NBA playoffs were in Boston. The last playoff game in the Garden was back on May 3, 2013, when Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett played their final game together in Celtics green (with an injured Rajon Rondo watched on the bench). The only players left on the roster from that game, a season-ending loss to the Knicks, are Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass.
Both of them will be back in the starting lineup for tonight's pivotal Game 3 against the Cavaliers, as Brad Stevens said he won't make any changes to his starting five but will go deeper into his bench if need be (Gigi, anyone?).
The Celtics find themselves in an 0-2 series hole following a pair of hard-fought games in Cleveland, hoping some home cooking can lead them to a victory.
If only the Celtics could take their offense from Game 1 and defense from Game 2 and mix it together, it would likely be enough for a win. While the Cavaliers are worlds better than the Celtics in terms of talent, Boston put up an admirable fight in each of the first two games of the series. They jumped out to early leads in both games, only to have the Cavs take over and do just enough to hold off late surges from the C's. In Game 2, the Celtics got as close as two points in the fourth quarter before the Cavs pulled away.
LeBron James has a lot to do with that, and the last time he was in the Garden for a playoff game he put on a show that basketball fans won't be forgetting anytime soon. That show came on June 7, 2012, when James put the Miami Heat on his back and carried them to a 98-79 Game 6 victory to force a deciding Game 7 in Miami. James scored 45 points off 19-for-26 shooting in one of the more incredible performances by a single athlete. He could not be stopped that night, a night he called a defining moment of his career, and two weeks later he was an NBA champion for the first time in his career.
Of course, the Garden hasn't always been nice to LeBron. The last time he played in a playoff game with Cleveland in Boston, the Celtics beat the heavily favored Cavs in six games in the 2009-10 playoffs, sending LeBron and his talents to Miami later that offseason.
But all of that is in the past, and all that matters is how the Celtics and Cavaliers play on this particular night. If the Celtics want any shot in this series, they need to win this game and avoid an absolute must-win on Sunday. They need to keep Cleveland from grabbing offensive rebounds, and they cannot give them extra opportunities, as they did in Game 2 with 18 turnovers (the Cavs scored 22 points off those Celtics gifts).
Danny Ainge said this morning the Celtics have no margin of error in this one, and he's right. As much as they can feed off the home crowd, the Celtics will still have to be near-perfect in order to get a win against the Cavaliers.
But these Celtics have battled through just about everything this year, and don't expect that fight to stop just because they're down 2-0.
Stick with CBSBostonsports.com for updates throughout the game, and tune in to all the action on 98.5 The Sports Hub beginning at 6:30pm!
