LeBron James had a quiet night on Thursday, but that did not stop the Cleveland Cavaliers from shutting down the Chicago Bulls. James had just 15 points in the Cavs' 94-73 rout of the Bulls to clinch the semifinals series 4-2. Cleveland was able to overcome another injury to Kyrie Irving, who limped off the court after injuring his knee in the first half.
The Cavaliers would go on to get contributions from unlikely sources, including 19 points from Matthew Dellavedova, and a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds from Tristan Thompson. The win sends Cleveland to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2009, during LeBron's first stint with the franchise.
Irving had 6 points in 12 minutes before his night came to an early end. The injury occurred when he landed on Thompson's foot in the second quarter. James had 11 assists and 9 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-23 from the field and miss all 4 three-point attempts. He was unable to match his dominating game-5 performance, where he scored 38 points in the win.
Even with "King James" returning home last summer, many expected the process of getting far in the playoffs to take a little longer. Those thoughts were echoed when Kevin Love suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and Irving could not stay healthy, dealing with injuries to both legs.
Despite all of the injuries, and dealing with a young team and young coach, the Cavs are back contending for a title. Even James admitted that he was surprised to see his team back in this position so quickly. He is now entering his fifth straight conference finals, the previous four coming with the Miami Heat.
It was the Bulls' worst home loss in an elimination playoff game in franchise history, and second overall to a 23-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968. Chicago got 20 points from Jimmy Butler and 14 from Derrick Rose, while Pau Gasol returned to score 8 points, all of which came in the first quarter.
The Cavaliers will now await the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Washington Wizards series, which the Hawks lead 3-2.
The Cavaliers would go on to get contributions from unlikely sources, including 19 points from Matthew Dellavedova, and a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds from Tristan Thompson. The win sends Cleveland to their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2009, during LeBron's first stint with the franchise.
Irving had 6 points in 12 minutes before his night came to an early end. The injury occurred when he landed on Thompson's foot in the second quarter. James had 11 assists and 9 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-23 from the field and miss all 4 three-point attempts. He was unable to match his dominating game-5 performance, where he scored 38 points in the win.
Even with "King James" returning home last summer, many expected the process of getting far in the playoffs to take a little longer. Those thoughts were echoed when Kevin Love suffered a season-ending shoulder injury and Irving could not stay healthy, dealing with injuries to both legs.
Despite all of the injuries, and dealing with a young team and young coach, the Cavs are back contending for a title. Even James admitted that he was surprised to see his team back in this position so quickly. He is now entering his fifth straight conference finals, the previous four coming with the Miami Heat.
It was the Bulls' worst home loss in an elimination playoff game in franchise history, and second overall to a 23-point loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1968. Chicago got 20 points from Jimmy Butler and 14 from Derrick Rose, while Pau Gasol returned to score 8 points, all of which came in the first quarter.
The Cavaliers will now await the winner of the Atlanta Hawks-Washington Wizards series, which the Hawks lead 3-2.
