CLEVELAND -- Ang three-point shot ni Avery Bradley’s three-pointer sa huling segundo ng laro ay dumampi sa lahat ng bahagi ng rim bago ito pumasok para sa 111-108 pagtakas ng Boston Cel-tics kontra sa Cavaliers sa Game Three ng kanilang Eastern Conference Finals.
Bagama’t natalo sa Boston ay hawak pa rin ng Cleveland ang 2-1 bentahe sa kanilang best-of-seven series.
“Thank God it’s bouncing on the rim because that’s taking time,” wika ni Celtics coach Brad Stevens sa mga reporters.
“If it goes in or doesn’t go in, they have a timeout left. So when itbounced around, I was actually hoping it went in, obviously, but not completely disappointed that it was bouncing up there,” dagdag pa nito.
Naglaro ang Celtics na wala si star player Isaiah Thomas, hindi na makakalaro sa post-season dahil sa isang hip injury, at alam na nauna nang nabigo ang Cavaliers sa kanilang balwarte sa isang Eastern team sa playoffs.
Ang sumalo sa naiwang trabaho ni Thomas na si Marcus Smart ay kumamada ng career-high na 27 points at nagtala ng 7 assists habang nagdagdag si Bradley ng 20 points.
Kumolekta naman si Al Horford ng 16 points habang humakot si Jae Crowder ng 14 points at 11 rebounds at nagdagdag si Kelly Olynyk ng 15 markers mula sa bench para sa Boston, tinalo ng Cleveland ng average na 28.5 points sa Games One at Two.
Sa Game Two ay di-nurog ng Cavs ang Cel-tics ng 44 points para sa most lopsided win sa Eastern finals history.
“We’ve got guys that have chips on their shoulders,” wika ni Stevens. “A lot of these guys have been overlooked, and this is their first opportunity to really play a meaningful role. We knew that while Friday was a 44-point disaster, it was worth one (game). It wasn’t worth four.”
Kinuha ng Cavs ang 21-point lead sa third quarter ngunit nagtala lamang ng 2-for-17 sa three-point range sa second half.
Tumipa naman ang Celtics ng 18 three-pointers sa kabuuan ng laro.
Napuwersa ang Cleveland sa 16 turnovers na nagresulta sa 14 points ng Boston.