LeBron, Cavs host Garnett, Celtics in Game 4 of East semis
Posted: Mon May 12 10:38 AM
(Sports Network) - The Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to knot their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece with the Boston Celtics tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers made it a 2-1 series with a big victory on Saturday at home. Superstar LeBron James and Delonte West both scored 21 points, as the fourth- seeded Cavaliers dominated the top-seeded Celtics, 108-84, in Game 3 of the set.
James was shut down in the first two games of the series, shooting just 8- of-42 from the field, but rebounded to shoot 3-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-16 overall. James added eight assists, while West finished 7-for-11 from the field overall -- 4-of-6 from beyond the arc -- and handed out seven assists.
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas ended with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the victory, while veteran Joe Smith added 17 points off the bench.
Kevin Garnett had 17 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which came out slow and couldn't recover. Paul Pierce contributed 14 points, while Kendrick Perkins collected 12 points and seven boards.
The Cavaliers have won a best-of-seven series after losing Games 1 and 2. Cleveland defeated the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 East finals after dropping the first two games of the set at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Cleveland has won five of its last six Game 4s in the postseason. The Cavaliers are 3-1 at home in this year's playoffs.
The Celtics are 0-4 on the road in this year's postseason. Boston has dropped three of its last four Game 4s in the playoffs.
Game 5 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Wednesday at TD Banknorth Garden.
Boston has lost a playoff series after winning the first two games of the set. In the 1990 first round, the New York Knicks knocked out the Celtics in five contests, 3-2.
This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in the 1976 East finals, and in four contests, 3-1, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. Cleveland knocked out the Celtics in seven games in the 1992 East semis.
Boston has made it to the East semis for the first time since 2003. That year, the Celtics were swept by the New Jersey Nets, 4-0. The last time the Celtics won in this round was in 2002 when they knocked out Detroit in five, 4-1, before losing to the Nets in the East finals, 4-2.
The Celtics survived a scare in the opening round, as they knocked out the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games. The home team won every game in the series. Boston won its four contests by an average of 25.3 points.
The Cavaliers, who are the defending Eastern Conference champions and knocked out the Wizards in round one, are 3-2 all-time in the semifinals. They defeated the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston in 1992 and New Jersey in 2007. Cleveland lost in the semis to Chicago in 1993 and Detroit in 2006.