Scrappy Boston Celtics Pushed to Brink of Elimination

Apr 23, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends against Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) during the second half in game three of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 103-95. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics erased several Cleveland Cavalier leads in Game 3 to give themselves a prime chance to win in the waning moments Thursday night at TD Garden. Though when it was all said and done, LeBron James‘ 31 points proved to be the glaring difference. As a result of his dominance, the Celtics now find themselves in a three-games-to-none series hole following the 103-95 defeat.

Trailing 95-89 with 2:45 left to play, Evan Turner drilled a big three-point shot to cut Cleveland’s lead to 3. The three capped off an 8-2 Boston run. Turner finished the game with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Unfortunately for Turner and company, the Cavs responded right away with a jab of their own.

Following Turner’s triple, the Celtics once again fell victim to poor rebounding, just as they have all series. Kevin Love found himself on the receiving end of a three-point ball after the Cavs were able to maintain possession following a Kyrie Irving missed layup. Love would later bang home another three with 26 seconds to play to ice the game at 101-93.

Love totaled 23 points and hit 6 threes to compliment James’ offensive outburst. J.R. Smith added 15 points and Irving finished with 13. Irving did not register a field goal until the third.

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Avery Bradley scored 18, Jae Crowder had 16 and Jared Sullinger added 10 for the Celtics. Iman Shumpert wore Isaiah Thomas like a shirt on the defensive end, holding Boston’s spark-plug to just 5 points in 21 minutes.

The Celtics, trailing 56-48 at the beginning of the third, ripped off eight-straight points to tie the game at 56. Cleveland would again assert its overwhelming offensive manpower, jumping out to an 84-76 lead after three quarters. They had led by as many as 11 in the frame.

In the fourth, the Cavaliers went up 89-78 before the Celtics began to chip away at the lead.

The last time LeBron played in the Garden as a member of the Cavaliers was back in 2010 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. The Celtics won that game and LeBron bolted for Miami. He was booed by the Garden fans every time he touched the ball Thursday, but that did not effect him. Instead, the hatred fueled him.

James also added 11 rebounds in 42 minutes. He’s now totaled 81 points through the first three games of the series.

Boston will look to avoid being swept clean out of the playoffs when they host the Cavaliers in Game 4 on Sunday at the Garden. Tip time is set for 1:00 p.m.