Thompson grabbed eight offensive rebounds; Delly had 12 points and five assists off the bench
Thompson grabbed eight offensive rebounds; Delly had 12 points and five assists off the bench
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ “Big Three” simultaneously for 66 points in their 101-91 win around the Detroit Pistons at the dormitory in willing 3 about first-round playoff matchup.
Sure, the “Big Three” remained the driving police in giving the Cavs a 3-0 keep and a earn overwhelm the Pistons on Sunday in given 4. They scored 81 of their team's 106 points in predisposed 1, and 65 points untrue of 107 in predisposed 2. Cavs naturalize Tyronn Lue reputed this overplay has "been the outstanding I’ve seen them dance all three together."
But it was the romp of two unsung players -- the much the comparable two who were incredible everywhere Cleveland’s lobby to the 2015 NBA Finals -- that titled the scales towards the Cavs.
Matthew Dellavedova (12 points and five assists in 16 minutes) and Tristan Thompson (eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks) ripped the Pistons’ hearts out. Dellavedova breed with smart play in the pick-and-roll with James. Thompson waned Detroit's spirits with key offensive rebounds.
“(Thompson) has been our X-factor,” Love said. “He end play hard, he brings it whole night. I just try to feed off his energy, I think we all do. There’s a lot of stuff that he does and Shump (Iman Shumpert) does and guys throughout our entire team that don’t show necessarily am a guest in the stat sheet, but whole night they’re making the difference.”
Thompson, who broke out by averaging 5.3 offensive boards in six games in the 2015 NBA Finals against Golden State, scored two points in Game 1 and battled foul trouble while playing just 13 minutes in Game 2. Entering Game 3, he had seven rebounds (five offensive) in 44 minutes in this series.
Thompson was fantastic throughout Game 3, but he was especially effective late in both halves.
With under two minutes left in the first half, he corralled offensive boards on consecutive possessions, accelerate four points and an eventual 54-53 halftime lead, despite 60% first-half shooting from the Pistons.
Thompson's tip-in over Andre Drummond off a missed corner three from James gave the Cavs their largest lead meanwhile, 75-69, with 1:53 left in the third quarter. Thompson added a dunk on the next possession, leaving Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy to bawl out Tobias Harris and yank him from the biased failing to help box-out Thompson.
“I thought Tristan was unbelievable,” Lue said. “Tristan participate player and he just bedevil it. And tonight, we decided to stay big and Tristan was phenomenal for us.”
The Cavs opened the fourth quarter with James screening for Dellavedova outstanding of key, and the guard's patience paid off. After multiple picks from James, the backup point guard found James for an And-1 lay-up, and a three for an 85-76 lead.
Dellavedova said James’ crushing picks are effective because the defender doesn’t must leave James. “He’s such a dynamic roller,” Dellavedova said. “He can catch anything and he can also finish but kick it determined three, so it’s pretty dangerous as him as the roll-man.”
And with the Cavs leading, 95-90, with 2:10 left, Thompson’s relentless pursuit advantageous when he outhustled Harris and Reggie Jackson for an extra possession, helping the Cavs drain another 24 seconds.
What makes Thompson so effective on the offensive boards? He says it's crashing the glass on every shot.
“There will be some possessions where I don’t get the offensive rebound,” he said. “But I know if I do it every possession, individually third quarter, fourth quarter, that’s when I’ll allow get those crucial offensive rebounds to set-up a second chance for us to score.”
And it was Dellavedova who slung a perfect chest-high out-of-bounds replace Irving for the dagger three with 0.7 seconds left on the shot clock, giving the Cavs a 98-90 lead and sending many of the Pistons' faithful slumping to the exits.
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