Smith thinks LeBron lacked confidence in Cavs loss

On defense, I thought we were much better than the score indicated.

Irving took over the game in the second half and finished with 42 points despite a tender ankle, LeBron James added 34 and the Cavaliers moved one win from an nearly inevitable third date in the NBA Finals with the Warriors by rallying to beat Boston 112-99 on Tuesday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

All is not lost – far from it.

Cleveland leads the series 2-1. “The only thing that matters now is to get a win back in Boston”.

“One of my first text messages I got was from Isaiah”, Stevens said.

“So I am happy it happened now”.

“He got to celebrate with us a little bit”, Bradley said. They can’t settle for being just good, which is why Thomas will be traded in a headliner deal to ultimately make them better. James said. “It seems like you only ask questions when we lose”. For a guy who’s played great for five straight months, he’s got to have a bad game sooner or later. “We’ve got to be a lot better for sure”. Amir Johnson could also return after missing Game 4 with a shoulder sprain. They had previously won ten games in a row, this season.

The Celtics were humiliated and bickering among themselves. His excellent play was even more impressive considering he sprained his left ankle during the second half.

The Boston Celtics led by as many as 16 points, but Kyrie Irving’s 23-point third quarter sparked a Cleveland Cavaliers comeback that the visiting squad could never match.

“He’s one of the best point guards in the National Basketball Association, and you know, you can tell he puts in a lot of work in his game, a lot of respect from myself, my teammates”, said Avery Bradley. “He has so many different wrinkles, misdirection, thinking the ball is going this way, he has a misdirection going the other way”. A lot of people counted us out with Isaiah not being here, and he is a big part of this team. Like, we didn’t know what they were going to run. After the game. That’s a dick move, LeBron. But this to me was a ideal example [of the Cavs saying] ‘We’re going to win the series.

Las Vegas isn’t buying what Bradley is selling.

His team is back in the series after being blown out in Games 1 and 2 at home, and Stevens probably didn’t want to rankle James.

“I think he’s going to be aggressive (in Game 4)”, Boston shooting guard Avery Bradley said.

James’ fellow All-Star scorer, Kyrie Irving, carried the load in LeBron’s absence, scoring 12 points over the final 6:46 of the frame to keep the Cavalier offense afloat. He was three of six from the foul line.

LeBron was already in a foul mood when he arrived at the podium because just moments earlier he had a brief exchange with a heckler.

“He was very stoked”, Crowder said. “It’s going to be tough”.