The Cleveland Cavaliers had six players post double-digit scoring figures in Saturday night’s 116-86 Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics. LeBron James led the charge for the Cavs, racking up 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting (3-of-3 from downtown), 12 assists, five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals in 38 minutes of action. Twelve assists might sound fairly routine for the King. However, a few of his passes in Game 3 were simply incredible — a fact Celtics head coach Brad Stevens touched on during his post-game presser.
Example No. 1: James to Tristan Thompson.
Another angle for your viewing pleasure…
Example No. 2: James to J.R. Smith
“We can’t give up dunks,” coach Stevens said during his media availability. “Obviously, some of the threes that (James) sprays out for are tremendous. There’s only one person that can make passes going to his left like that in the league. But we gotta do a better job with our help and with all of our coverage.”
Of the 300 teams that have tried to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs, only 19 have succeeded. James and the Cavs have a claim in two of those instances: 2007 against the Detroit Pistons and 2016 against the Golden State Warriors. The road to achieving this feat will be difficult, to be sure. James knows he’ll need continued support from his teammates, who showed up in a big way on Saturday night.
“I also have to inspire my teammates to be better,” James told ESPN after Game 3. “They answered the call tonight, and they need to answer the phone another time on Monday.”
Monday’s Game 4 matchup is set to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 8:30 p.m. EST with ESPN having live broadcast coverage. Until then, have a go at James’ highlights from Saturday night’s win.