ATLANTA — Kevin Love scored 27 points, LeBron James hit a huge shot with 39.2 seconds to go and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off their second straight playoff sweep, beating the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 Sunday to advance to the Eastern
ATLANTA — Kevin Love scored 27 points, LeBron James hit a huge shot with 39.2 seconds to go and the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off their second straight playoff sweep, beating the Atlanta Hawks 100-99 Sunday to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Hawks had one last chance after James missed a 3-pointer with the clock winding down. Atlanta got the rebound and put the ball in the hands of Dennis Schroder, who led the team with 21 points.
The speedy point guard drove into the lane but was surrounded by James and Tristan Thompson. Schroder slipped and James tied up the ball, forcing a huge mismatch of a jump ball with 2.8 seconds left. With a 7-inch height advantage, James flicked the ball toward the sideline.
Paul Millsap tried to get off a desperation shot, but it was after the buzzer and didn’t go in anyway.
The Cavaliers opened the playoffs with four straight wins over Detroit and made short work of the Hawks as well in a series that mirrored last year’s conference finals.
In that one, the Hawks were the top seed but lost four straight to Cleveland. This time, the Cavaliers were healthy, seeded No. 1 and simply too much for Atlanta down the stretch in three of their four wins. They improved to 12-0 against the Hawks in the postseason.
The Cavaliers will face Miami-Toronto winner in the conference finals. Toronto leads 2-1.
THUNDER 111, SPURS 97
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant matched his career playoff high with 41 points and Oklahoma beat San Antonio to tie the Western Conference semifinal series 2-2.
Durant scored 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half.
Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points and 15 assists, Dion Waiters added 17 points, and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oklahoma City. The Thunder shot 50.6 percent overall and 57 percent in the second half to avoid going back to San Antonio down 3-1 for Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points, Kawhi Leonard had 21, and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.
