Cavs blow out Celts to reach finals

The Cavaliers, who rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Warriors in last year’s finals, set an National Basketball Association record in winning their 13th straight playoff series closeout game.

In his second season in New York, Babe Ruth led the Yankees to their first World Series berth in 1921 against the Giants.

With the NBA Finals still six days way, Cavaliers star LeBron James isn’t quite ready to start thinking about attempting to take down the juggernaut Warriors for the third consecutive season.

But it all evaporated. The Thunder lost to Miami in five games, a series that made James a champion for the first time.

Then, after spending much of his free time flying cross-country to be with his family, Thomas had a tooth knocked out in Game 1 of the conference semifinals against Washington. Reserve Warriors center JaVale McGee was all but out of the National Basketball Association, and now he’s playing impactful minutes in these playoffs.

For the third time in as many TD Garden games in the series, the Cavs never trailed – and they won the three road games in the series by a combined 90 points, the last two by 77.

“I thought we played a little too haphazard tonight”, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. Then maybe a fifth.

“How can I get the youth to feel like passing the ball is OK, making the extra pass is OK”, James wondered. The Warriors are a ideal 12-0 in the playoffs this season. Steve Kerr, who is still experiencing complications from back surgery two years ago, hasn’t been on the Warriors’ sideline for more than a month. Countered Golden State acting coach Mike Brown, when asked about it Thursday: “That’s his opinion”.

Kerr is still involved, albeit donning sweatpants. The Warriors defeated the Spurs 113-111.

This is LeBron’s seventh-straight NBA Finals appearance (eighth overall), and this one would mean a whole lot more.

That the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in last season’s Finals has to burn on a daily basis. James’ fierce mentality aimed at securing a repeat for his city and his fourth title has most definitely rubbed off on his team, with Cleveland more focused than ever.

Thomas added: “The plan is to play until 40, and they know that”. Can Durant win his first? “I did pretty much everything that MJ did when I was a kid”. We’ll go from there. We didn’t talk about championships or anything. Simple as that. It’s good that we’re here now. “As of tonight, I’ll get started”.

Can LeBron and the Cavs do it again? Although the Celtics won the next game without him, Cleveland went on to win the series in five games.

James actually has been to eight NBA Finals. Lue knows how to squeeze the best out of his players when he needs them most, which is why the heavily favored Warriors can’t afford to take anything for granted in the title decider.

Can the Cavs do it again?

An unprecedented Finals trilogy was finally set, and still, James had no interest or energy to engage the topic.

LeBron James, who scored 35 points on Thursday night in Game 5 as the Cavaliers finished off the Celtics, expressed his admiration for Thomas after the two stars embraced on the court.

The 109 points through three quarters marked the most the Celtics have allowed in the shot clock era.

He continued, “So I think that helped shape my game”. Game 1 is set for May 29 in Pittsburgh.

For James, moving past Jordan was especially meaningful.

Offensive Firepower – The Warriors’ breadth of offensive weapons continually creates havoc for opposing teams, as it is near impossible to cover all of their threats at once.