
Now moving onto their fourth straight NBA Finals appearance, here are three takeaways from Game 7 as the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Boston Celtics.
In a war of attrition, the old adage of having the best player in the series ultimately proved the difference for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In a game featuring nine lead changes and a 78-74 margin with just 2:34 remaining, the overwhelming presence of LeBron James, combined with the lack of experience among several key Boston Celtics players, ultimately saw the Cavaliers wind up victorious, 87-79.
In a classic Game 7 setting, scoring was at a premium, with both teams combining to shoot a ghastly 16-of-74 from 3-point range. Furthermore, it came as no surprise that this epic encounter featured the slowest pace of the postseason thus far at 88.18.
After trailing 35-23 with 8:52 remaining in the second quarter, head coach Tyronn Lue explained after the game what it took for the Cavaliers to remain in striking distance:
"“They went up 12, we took a timeout, just told our guys to stay the course, we were getting good shots, our defense was pretty good. I thought the players did a good job of adjusting to our switches earlier than we wanted to, you know double-team the post to try to get us activated….I think we brought in Kyle [Korver] for Tristan [Thompson] around that stretch and that kind of opened up the floor a little bit, and was able to get some scores and stops.”"
2018 Eastern Conference Champs. ✅ #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/HbK0yUpiC7
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 28, 2018
LeBron James was again brilliant with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, while Jeff Green, filling in for the absence of All-Star Kevin Love, added 19 points and eight rebounds. Rookie Jason Tatum again led the way for the Celtics with 24 points and seven rebounds, while All-Star Al Horford added 17 points.
However, the Celtics’ starting backcourt duo of Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown combined to go 3-of-22 from 3-point range. Boston attempted 19 more shots from the field, primarily due to their 11-2 margin on the offensive boards, but couldn’t knock down those looks.
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With another momentous contest in the books, here are three main takeaways from Game 7.