LeBron, Cavs Crush Celtics in Game 3
For the second time this postseason, the questions of the Cleveland Cavaliers' chances have come up after dropping consecutive games on the road to begin the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James did his best to erase those questions again on Saturday night as the Cavs got on the board with a 116-86 rout of the Boston Celtics in Game 3. James had 27 points and 12 assists, while Kevin Love added 14 rebounds, as Cleveland cut their series deficit to 2-1. As a team, that Cavaliers made half of their shots from beyond the arc, including Kyle Korver hitting four of his team's 17 three-pointers. The Cavs got off to a quick start with a 19-point lead in the first quarter, as the Celtics dropped to 1-5 on the road this postseason. Jayson Tatum had 18 points to lead the Celtics, as Jaylen Brown struggled with fouls and scored just 10 points on the night. Terry Rozier added 13 and mentioned after the game that this loss could be enough to motivate his team to finish the series. Only 19 of 300 teams have ever come back from a 2-0 series deficit to win an NBA playoff series, but James's team has done it each of the last three times they've been down 2-0, including twice against the Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers specifically have done it twice, including in 2017 and 2007. Meanwhile, the Celtics are now 37-0 when winning the first two games of the series. The Cavaliers had six players finish in double figures on the night and will host Game 4 of the series on Monday night.
Lightning Win Third Straight For Series Lead
Speaking of rallying from 2-0 series deficits, the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially done that in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy shut down the Washington Capitals late and finished with 28 saves in the Lightning's third straight win, 3-2, over the Capitals for a 3-2 Eastern Conference Finals lead. Cedric Paquette scored just 19 seconds in to the game, while Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan both found the back of the net, as the Lightning became the first home team to earn a win in the series. The Capitals trailed by three for most of the night, but Alex Ovechkin scored with 1:36 left to pull his team within one late. Vasilevskiy made three big saves in the final minute to secure the win for his team, who is hitting the road back to Capital One Arena. With their two road wins in this series, the Lightning are now 5-1 away from home this postseason. The Capitals have struggled to score since winning the first two games of the series at Amalie Arena, where they scored 10 times in the two games combined. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for a fourth straight game on Saturday, and now has a playoff career-high 22 points this year with 11 goals and 11 assists. The Lightning are looking to advance to their second Stanley Cup Finals in the past four seasons, and can do so with a win in Game 6 on Monday night.
Scherzer Makes History, Nats Fall to Dodgers
Max Scherzer was dealing for the Washington Nationals on Saturday night, but unfortunately for the Nats, it was not enough to prevent a doubleheader sweep. Scherzer lasted seven innings and struck out 13, but the Nationals fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second time on Saturday, 5-4. Matt Kemp had the game-winning RBI double in the ninth inning, helping his team rally from a 4-2 series deficit, as they scored three times in the final two innings. Cody Bellinger had a two-run blast in the eighth inning to begin the comeback. Before the late rally for the Dodgers, the Nats got a stellar outing from their starter, Scherzer, who ended with a no-decision. Scherzer's ninth of his 13 strikeouts gave him 100 on the season, as he became the quickest pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season since 1900, as he needed just 63 innings to do so. Scherzer left with a 4-3 lead entering the eighth inning, but Sean Doolittle struggled out of the bullpen and suffered his second loss of the season. The Dodgers took Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader, 4-1, earlier in the day behind Max Muncy's two RBIs and Ross Stripling's nine strikeouts over six innings. These two teams have one more game to go in this three-game series at Nationals Park, which is on Sunday afternoon, as Stephen Strasburg will be matched up with Alex Wood.
For the second time this postseason, the questions of the Cleveland Cavaliers' chances have come up after dropping consecutive games on the road to begin the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron James did his best to erase those questions again on Saturday night as the Cavs got on the board with a 116-86 rout of the Boston Celtics in Game 3. James had 27 points and 12 assists, while Kevin Love added 14 rebounds, as Cleveland cut their series deficit to 2-1. As a team, that Cavaliers made half of their shots from beyond the arc, including Kyle Korver hitting four of his team's 17 three-pointers. The Cavs got off to a quick start with a 19-point lead in the first quarter, as the Celtics dropped to 1-5 on the road this postseason. Jayson Tatum had 18 points to lead the Celtics, as Jaylen Brown struggled with fouls and scored just 10 points on the night. Terry Rozier added 13 and mentioned after the game that this loss could be enough to motivate his team to finish the series. Only 19 of 300 teams have ever come back from a 2-0 series deficit to win an NBA playoff series, but James's team has done it each of the last three times they've been down 2-0, including twice against the Indiana Pacers. The Cavaliers specifically have done it twice, including in 2017 and 2007. Meanwhile, the Celtics are now 37-0 when winning the first two games of the series. The Cavaliers had six players finish in double figures on the night and will host Game 4 of the series on Monday night.
Lightning Win Third Straight For Series Lead
Speaking of rallying from 2-0 series deficits, the Tampa Bay Lightning have officially done that in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Andrei Vasilevskiy shut down the Washington Capitals late and finished with 28 saves in the Lightning's third straight win, 3-2, over the Capitals for a 3-2 Eastern Conference Finals lead. Cedric Paquette scored just 19 seconds in to the game, while Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan both found the back of the net, as the Lightning became the first home team to earn a win in the series. The Capitals trailed by three for most of the night, but Alex Ovechkin scored with 1:36 left to pull his team within one late. Vasilevskiy made three big saves in the final minute to secure the win for his team, who is hitting the road back to Capital One Arena. With their two road wins in this series, the Lightning are now 5-1 away from home this postseason. The Capitals have struggled to score since winning the first two games of the series at Amalie Arena, where they scored 10 times in the two games combined. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for a fourth straight game on Saturday, and now has a playoff career-high 22 points this year with 11 goals and 11 assists. The Lightning are looking to advance to their second Stanley Cup Finals in the past four seasons, and can do so with a win in Game 6 on Monday night.
Scherzer Makes History, Nats Fall to Dodgers
Max Scherzer was dealing for the Washington Nationals on Saturday night, but unfortunately for the Nats, it was not enough to prevent a doubleheader sweep. Scherzer lasted seven innings and struck out 13, but the Nationals fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second time on Saturday, 5-4. Matt Kemp had the game-winning RBI double in the ninth inning, helping his team rally from a 4-2 series deficit, as they scored three times in the final two innings. Cody Bellinger had a two-run blast in the eighth inning to begin the comeback. Before the late rally for the Dodgers, the Nats got a stellar outing from their starter, Scherzer, who ended with a no-decision. Scherzer's ninth of his 13 strikeouts gave him 100 on the season, as he became the quickest pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season since 1900, as he needed just 63 innings to do so. Scherzer left with a 4-3 lead entering the eighth inning, but Sean Doolittle struggled out of the bullpen and suffered his second loss of the season. The Dodgers took Game 1 of the day-night doubleheader, 4-1, earlier in the day behind Max Muncy's two RBIs and Ross Stripling's nine strikeouts over six innings. These two teams have one more game to go in this three-game series at Nationals Park, which is on Sunday afternoon, as Stephen Strasburg will be matched up with Alex Wood.
