To Infinity And Beyond! Cavaliers In Conference Finals; Sweep Hawks 84-74

Posted by Matt Loede under NBA Game Recap, NBA PLAYOFFS

Cavaliers Hawks Basketball

And the beat goes on.

Led by not their best game, but a good enough effort, the Cavaliers are headed back to the Eastern Conference Finals, this after a dispatching of the Atlanta Hawks, 84-74 to finish off another 4-0 sweep. It’s the second straight sweep for a team that seems like a shoe-in for a trip to the Finals.

It wasn’t as easy as the last three efforts, but Mo Williams’ dagger three in the final minute made sure the Hawks would not have to fuel up their jet to head back to Cleveland for what would have been a game five on Wednesday. Williams had just 12 points, but the three was the shot of the night, as it extended a five-point lead to an eight-point lead.

LeBron James had another solid night, 27 points with 9-for-22 shooting. He also added 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Delonte West had 21 points, including a crazy slam in the fourth quarter that sent the Cavs bench into a frenzy. Zydrunas Ilgauskas was 6-for-13 shooting and had 14 points.

The Hawks had a 7-point lead after one quarter at 22-15, but the Cavs quickly responded, as the second team gave the James gang a break, and got the team back into the game in the second quarter, and after a rally, the Cavs led 40-38 at the halftime break.

After a third quarter that saw the Cavs outscore the Hawks 22-19 to lead by five, they never allowed Atlanta another lead, as they were able to keep the advantage in the fourth quarter, and after Williams’ three basically ended it, they added to the double digit win to keep that streak alive as well.

They have not won a game by less than 10 in their now 8 playoff victories. So now the waiting game starts again, as the Boston-Orlando series heads back to Boston on Tuesday for game five after the crazy Celtics win on Sunday night to tie that series up 2-2.

It seems like there’s no doubt that the Cavs will get a few days off, as the earliest they likely would play would be Sunday, and that’s only if the Magic or Celtics would win two in a row, and that does not seem likely to happen, as the two teams have gone back and forth enough to make it an almost for sure seven game series.

For now, they are by far the most consistent team in the playoffs, and they will be able to sit back and watch for awhile before they get ready for home games 1 and 2 vs either Boston or Orlando.

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