CLEVELAND: The road back to the NBA Finals officially goes through Cleveland.
LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points in the third quarter and the Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 109-94 on Monday to clinch homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs.
James dominated the game, playing 32 of the first 36 minutes before sitting out the fourth. He shot 13-of-16 and staked the Cavs to a 90-75 lead before Kyrie Irving took over in the fourth. Irving scored 35 points, including a 3-pointer early in the quarter that extended the lead to 98-81. Irving scored 11 of the Cavs’ first 12 points in the fourth quarter — a big reason why James didn’t have to return. Irving finished with 13 points in the fourth quarter.
Kevin Love had 10 points and 14 rebounds and Matthew Dellavedova scored 10 points off the bench.
Kent Bazemore scored 23 points for the Hawks, including the game’s first eight points to give the Hawks an early lead. He was held to just two points in the second half. Al Horford had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Jeff Teague had 21 points and nine assists.
James has been in playoff mode for weeks. He is averaging 28.4 points in his last 10 games and shooting 63 percent. He is shooting nearly 52 percent from 3-point range during that time, a dramatic improvement on what has been one of the worst 3-point shooting seasons of his career.
“I think when he’s taking shots in rhythm, catching and shooting it with confidence … percentages go up,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “The best thing for him is just the shot selection, taking the great shots, the open shots, and then just live with the results.”
The win means Lue can rest whoever he wants during Wednesday’s season finale against the Detroit Pistons.
The Cavs will face either the Pistons or the Indiana Pacers in the first round, which begins over the weekend.
It’s the first time the Cavs have held homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs since 2010.
The Cavs needed a timeout after falling behind early 8-0. Love, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith all went scoreless in the first quarter, then the Cavs held the Hawks to 68 points and 42 percent shooting over the final three quarters to beat the team that held homecourt advantage throughout the East last season.
Lue spoke for weeks about the importance of securing homecourt. James dismissed its importance at times, but played Monday like a man determined to make sure the Cavs will play as many home games as necessary.
“The No. 1 seed, the No. 2 seed, whatever the seeds, it hasn’t been a focus of ours,” James said. “It’s just about us continuing to work our process, work our habits and live with the results.”
This was the type of performance, effort and result everyone in Cleveland can live with.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.