Cleveland Cavaliers move one win away from the NBA Finals with a 112-99 win over Boston Celtics to lead the Eastern Finals 3-1.
The Cavaliers, who lost their first match of the 2017 Playoffs on Sunday night, bounced back at home to beat the Celtics by 13 points. They now have a maximum of three games to get that one crucial win.
Kyrie Irving scored 41 points in the win, as he took on the burden of LeBron James' absence. James recorded four personal fouls in the first half for the first time in his career and was used sparingly in the rest of the match.
Despite his disciplinary problems in the match, James still scored 34 points. Kevin Love also contributed with 17 points and 17 assists in the win.
Irving's third-quarter performance was what proved crucial for the Cavs, with the point guard scoring 17 points in the last four minutes of the penultimate quarter.
Kyrie just had a 3rd quarter to remember! 21 PTS for Uncle Drew in that quarter, as the @cavs score 40 in Q3 & lead BOS 87-80 pic.twitter.com/iR9lf1w4nH
— NBA (@NBA) May 24, 2017
For the Celtics, the task is very clear. The team need to win the next three games if they are to reach the NBA Finals.
Without Isaiah Thomas for the rest of the season, the team ran out to a ten-point lead at the end of the first quarter with the likes of Avery Bradley (19 points) and Jae Crowder (18 points) impressing.
The series returns to Boston on Thursday night, with the Cavaliers knowing a win will set up the third Finals series in a row against Golden State Warriors.
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