Celtics dominated by Cavaliers in Game 3, 116-86

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CLEVELAND –  “Whatever It Takes” is the rallying cry/message of the moment that you could find on billboards, t-shirts and all sorts of Cleveland Cavaliers paraphernalia. 

Well, for them to get back into this series with the Boston Celtics it took George Hill knocking down some early shots and LeBron James to follow. 

Sprinkle in some early foul trouble for the Celtics and a slew of wide open to lightly contested shots missed by Boston early and often, and it all added up to a 116-86 Cleveland victory. 

Boston’s lead in the series now stands at 2-1 with Game 4 here in Cleveland on Monday night. 

Hill, roundly criticized for his poor play in the first two games in Boston, scored four of Cleveland’s first nine points and finished with a solid 13 points on 4-for-11 shooting. 

And James, who has been the primary (and secondary and …) scoring option for Cleveland, once again led the way for the Cavs with 27 points, 5 rebounds, and 12 assists. 

The struggles Boston had in the first half were consistent with what we have seen from Boston away from the TD Garden during the playoffs.

Boston fell behind by as many as 23 points in the first half which ended with the Celtics trailing 61-41. 

A 20-point deficit at the half may seem a daunting uphill fight for most teams in the NBA. 

But for the Celtics, it’s a familiar starting point for a team that has engineered several comeback wins from deep deficits.

To turn their fortunes around, the Celtics would need a better start to the third quarter than the one they had to start the game. 

But the struggles Boston endured to start the game, were once again present to start the third quarter as Cleveland went ahead by as many as 26 points less than two minutes into the quarter.

Boston would cut into Cleveland’s lead, but the Cavs’ control was never an issue as they led wire-to-wire in what was very much a must-win game for them.

As for the Celtics, the idea of them sweeping the Cavs out of the playoffs, while theoretically possible coming into Game 3, seemed highly unlikely. 

The goal for Boston coming into Cleveland was to leave with a 3-1 lead which remains possible with Game 4 on the horizon.

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