Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 3 Grades and Analysis
LeBron James had 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers outlasted the Atlanta Hawks in overtime, 114-111, at Quicken Loans Arena on Sunday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Kyrie Irving (knee) and Kyle Korver (ankle) both sat out.
This was a wild game in all aspects.
James, who went just 14-of-37 from the floor, missed his first 10 shots for the first time in his career. As a result, the Hawks were able to take a 24-21 lead heading into the second quarter.
That was when things got crazy.
Late in the period, Al Horford got tangled up with Matthew Dellavedova. Dellavedova fell into Horford's leg in a loose-ball scrum, and Horford, perhaps thinking Dellavedova did it intentionally, dropped an elbow into Dellavedova's shoulder. Horford was ejected.
Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer was cryptic about the decision to eject Horford, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
Things went back and forth the rest of the way, with the Cavaliers going up by as many as 10 points in the second half. However, the Hawks continued to battle and took a four-point lead late in the fourth period.
Cleveland would answer, sending the game into overtime as Jeff Teague missed a three-pointer at the end of regulation.
With the Cavs down 111-109 with 36.4 seconds remaining in the extra session, James buried a corner three-pointer to put his team up one. He then hit a bank shot with 12.8 seconds left to give the Cavaliers a 114-111 lead.
LeBron played with nagging injuries all night, and Cavaliers head coach David Blatt was thrilled with his effort, per Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated:
Shelvin Mack misfired on two three-point attempts to end the contest.
Both teams shot only 41 percent, with Cleveland making three more triples than Atlanta did.
The Cavs also pulled down 19 offensive rebounds. By contrast, the Hawks had only six.
Blatt loved his team's grittiness in general, per NBA TV:
Budenholzer felt the same about his squad, per Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan:
Game 4 is at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night. Catch all of the action at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
| Al Horford | Incomplete |
| Paul Millsap | B+ |
| Jeff Teague | A- |
| DeMarre Carroll | B |
| Kent Bazemore | B |
| Rest of Team | B- |
| LeBron James | A- |
| Timofey Mozgov | B |
| J.R. Smith | B- |
| Tristan Thompson | B- |
| Iman Shumpert | B |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
Atlanta Hawks
Al Horford: Incomplete (ejected)
In what may have been the most controversial call of the playoffs, Horford was ejected in the first half after a scrum with Dellavedova.
It's a shame, too, because Horford was playing extremely well.
He scored 14 points off 7-of-10 shooting, draining jumpers and making good cuts into the lane for easy buckets.
Horford also grabbed four rebounds in 19 minutes.
However, due to the circumstances, Horford gets an incomplete grade.
Paul Millsap: B+
Paul Millsap made a living at the free-throw line.
The big man bulled his way to the basket and was able to consistently draw contact throughout the night. He made the best of his trips to the charity stripe, too, making all 11 of his foul shots.
It would have helped if he were a bit more efficient in terms of his field-goal attempts, though. Millsap went just 5-of-11 and took some tough, contested shots.
He contributed 22 points and nine rebounds in 46 minutes.
Jeff Teague: A-
What a heartbreaking loss for Teague.
The floor general gave it everything he had, draining huge shots in the fourth quarter and in overtime and nearly willing his team to victory.
Teague did not shoot well, going 9-of-23 and missing some open mid-range looks, but he did make three three-pointers and went 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Teague blew by his defender numerous times, sending the Cavaliers defense scrambling.
He added seven assists and six rebounds and did not commit a single turnover in 43 minutes. Incredible. To put the cherry on top, Teague was a plus-eight in a three-point loss.
DeMarre Carroll: B
DeMarre Carroll is clearly not himself on that banged-up knee, but you have to love his grit.
The long forward scored 10 points off 4-of-12 shooting, making a pair of triples. He wasn't moving particularly well, but he utilized his basketball IQ to make the right play offensively, passing out of drives and only taking jump shots that were open.
Despite his inefficiency in terms of shooting the basketball, Carroll did a fine job defensively, constantly getting a hand in LeBron's face and turning all of the star's looks into difficult ones.
His effort on the defensive end was so good that Carroll ended up being a team-high plus-11 in 41 minutes. That's why he gets a "B" in spite of his offensive struggles.
Kent Bazemore: B
Kent Bazemore put forth a scrappy effort.
He made only three of his nine shots, but he sacrificed his body by going after loose balls and showed some versatility defensively, guarding a couple of different positions.
Bazemore ended up with 14 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals, so he filled up the stat sheet.
The missed field goals did hurt, but he made up for them by going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line and coming up with some huge plays in the fourth quarter.
Rest of Team: B-
Shelvin Mack was terrific off the bench, recording 13 points off a 5-of-10 clip and knocking down three treys. He also did a great job of getting the Hawks out in transition.
Mike Scott, however, wasn't as impressive.
Sure, he tallied eight points and nine rebounds, but he made just three of his nine shots and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Scott rushed several of the triple tries early in the shot clock, including a pair in overtime.
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James: A-
It would be easy to look at the fact that James went 14-of-37 and say he had a bad outing, but that would be shortsighted.
Yes, James had an incredibly inefficient shooting performance and missed his first 10 shots, but he still left huge fingerprints on this game.
He posted his 12th career playoff triple-double with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists, doing a marvelous job of setting up his teammates for perimeter looks off dribble penetration.
LeBron also hit the deciding shots in overtime, nailing a corner three-pointer to put the Cavaliers up by one and then hitting a runner to give his team a three-point edge.
Nagging injuries dogged James, but he fought through them and did just enough to get his short-handed ballclub the victory.
The only reason he doesn't get a full "A" is because of the 23 missed shots, which included a large number of layups. The six turnovers hurt him a bit, too.
Timofey Mozgov: B
His numbers may not reflect it, but Timofey Mozgov was solid.
He had nine points, five rebounds and two blocks and was effective on both ends. He dove to the basket and was the recipient of interior passes for easy buckets offensively. He was also a rim deterrent on the other side, altering a couple of shots in addition to the ones he blocked.
Mozgov shot 3-of-6 and went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
J.R. Smith: B-
We saw good and bad J.R. Smith.
He scored 17 points, but he wasn't efficient, going 6-of-14 and making just three of his nine three-point attempts.
Smith made a couple of big triples, utilizing pump fakes to shake free for clean looks, but he also took some of the wild, contested shots that he is known so well for.
Smith's impact on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds, was perhaps the most impressive part of his performance.
Tristan Thompson: B-
This was a decent effort for Tristan Thompson.
He tallied 10 points and seven rebounds, but he committed five fouls. Thompson was also surprisingly ineffective on the offensive glass, grabbing only two offensive boards.
He did have a key block on a layup attempt late in the fourth quarter, though.
Iman Shumpert: B
Iman Shumpert made some big plays.
The guard scored 15 points off 5-of-11 shooting, going 4-of-8 from downtown. He did a great job of knowing where to be on the floor, spotting up in the corners and draining triples.
Shumpert was also a force on the glass, hauling in seven rebounds.
Rest of Team: B+
Dellavedova made a tremendous impact.
Forget the fact that he was involved in the play that got Horford ejected; he also scored 17 points in place of the injured Irving. The Aussie shot only 5-of-15, but he went 4-of-9 from long distance, running out to his spots on the three-point line and showing a quick release.
James Jones was decent off the bench, posting nine points and five assists. He made a pair of tough three-pointers and also got fouled on one.
