The Cleveland Cavaliers trounced the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 118-88. The Cavaliers complete the sweep on Atlanta and have now advanced to the NBA Finals.
LeBron James led the way with 23 points on 10 of 20 from the field, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out seven assists in 29 minutes. James now makes his fifth consecutive finals appearance, something that hasn't been done since 1966. Tristan Thompson posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. His hustle and energy was at a high level once again, helping the Cavs put away the Hawks.
Kyrie Irving put in 16 points on 6 of 11 from the field to go along with four rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes. Irving missed Games 2 and 3 of this playoff series, but made his return tonight and played well. J.R. Smith chipped in a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds while hitting four three-pointers. Timofey Mozgov put up 14 points including seven rebounds, and blocked three shots. The Cavs shot a respectable 49 percent from the field in this game and were also 42 percent on 13 of 31 from three-point range.
The Cavaliers manhandled the Hawks in this series as they now advance to the NBA finals for a chance to win an NBA title for the first time since 1964 in Cleveland sports history and for the first time in franchise history. This has been a long awaited moment for Cleveland fans, who lost LeBron for four years and were a lottery team during the time. As for James, he has the opportunity to deliver on the promise he made to the city of Cleveland years ago.
For the Hawks, Jeff Teague led the way with 17 points on 8 of 23 from the field. Paul Millsap posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kent Bazemore put in 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. The Hawks shot just 42 percent from the field and were only 15.6 percent on 5 of 32 from three-point range.
This was a disappointing finish to the season for the Hawks as they finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA having won 60 games only to get swept by a shorthanded Cleveland team in the Conference Finals. They also had four players make the All-Star team and Mike Budenholzer won Coach of the Year.
Now, they will have to focus on bringing back Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, as the two will become unrestricted free agent this summer. The Hawks will need to re-sign them if they want to come back next year for another attempt to make the Finals.
The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin on Thursday, June 4th.