The Cleveland Cavaliers finally broke through the Eastern Conference Finals with a convincing 116-86 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the series on Saturday night. It was a strong overall team performance led by their pair of All-Stars in LeBron James and Kevin Love that connected on a couple of highlight reel-worthy plays.
One of which was an impressive bounce pass by Love past a pair of defenders to James, who threw down a vicious two-hand reverse windmill dunk. Following the game, Love called the pass a career highlight-type play for him in what turned out to be a huge hammer that further pushed the Cavs ahead in the contest.
Throughout his career, Love has developed the reputation for being one of the top passing big men in the game that was exemplified by his connection on the play with the four-time league MVP. It was emphasized by James, putting an exclamation point on the sequence with a powerful dunk at the rim that once again showcases that he has plenty left in the tank.
Beyond that, this was a part of an encouraging team performance from the Cavs that has pushed them a step closer to getting back in the series. Prior to Game 3, Cleveland looked overmatched by Boston’s collective effort on both ends of the floor that put them in a 2-0 hole through the first two games. They now have a chance to even things up in Game 4 on Monday night that could shift things in their favor.
This will require both Love and James to continue to lead the charge in order for the Cavs to have a legitimate chance to get past the upstart Celtics and they will need to get at least one win at TD Garden where Boston has yet to lose in this year’s postseason. In the meantime, this was a special moment for Love, one that he will look fondly back on once he steps away from the game, years down the line.