CLEVELAND — LeBron James shook off an atrocious shooting start and withstood Atlanta’s gritty comeback to record a triple-double, and the Cleveland Cavaliers moved within one win of the NBA finals by beating the Hawks 114-111 in overtime on Sunday night to take a 3-0 series lead.
James missed his first 10 shots but finished with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists. The Cavs needed every single one of them to hold off the top-seeded Hawks, who fought Cleveland until the final seconds despite being without injured shooter Kyle Korver and losing Al Horford, who was ejected for throwing an elbow at Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova in the second quarter.
James hit a 3-pointer with 36.4 seconds left to put the Cavs ahead by one, and the superstar dropped a runner with 12.8 left to make it 114-111.
Atlanta had two chances to tie it in the final seconds, but Shelvin Mack missed two 3-pointers.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors aren’t worried about a letdown in Game 4 after taking a 3-0 lead over the Houston Rockets.
“It’s easy for us to stay hungry because none of us have really experienced this before or accomplished really anything,” Curry said.
The Warriors are one win away from reaching the NBA finals for the first time since they won the 1975 title after Curry poured in 40 points in a 115-80 win Saturday night in Game 3. The MVP made seven 3-pointers in the victory to set an NBA record for most 3s in a postseason with 64.
Coach Steve Kerr doesn’t believe anything will change for his team now that the Warriors are on the cusp of advancing as they head into Monday night’s game in Houston.
“They know that the most important thing is just the next play,” Kerr said.
“Keying in on competing and paying attention to all the little details, focusing on the mission and not the result, that’s always been our mantra and it’s especially true in moments like these. Just keep going, keep pushing.”
The Rockets are hoping to turn the page after an embarrassing showing in front of their home crowd that came after playing well in two close losses to start the series in Oakland. The Warriors controlled Game 3 from beginning to end, and Houston looked listless and overmatched in the blowout.
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