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Wednesday 9 May 2018

Sweep, sleep: Cavaliers oust

Raptors, wait for East finals foe

By TOM WITHERS East's top team and the in a seven-game scrap with
CLEVELAND (AP) — Their one that was supposedly Indiana in the first round,
doubters are dropping off built to dethrone them, with had another solid game
as quickly as the competi- a 128-93 win in Game 4 with 23 points. Kyle Korver
tion. that has perhaps changed added 16, J.R. Smith scored
Only one team has ad- Cleveland's outlook. 15 on 6-for-6 shooting and
vanced to the conference LeBron James, whose fu- point guard George Hill,
finals in these NBA playoffs, ture hangs over this city like who was sidelined for three
and it's the same squad a looming thunderstorm, games in the Pacers series,
that looked vulnerable dur- scored 29 points with 11 as- added 12.
ing a chaotic regular sea- sists and eight rebounds on The Cavs were balanced
son, beatable in the post- 12 of 19 shooting — an or- and were finally able to
season and was one loss dinary performance by his take some of the pressure
from a possible franchise standards — as the Cavs off James, who had seem-
collapse. won their 10th straight over ingly been abandoned
The ending's been post- the Raptors with one of by his teammates through
poned. The Cleveland their most complete games much of the postseason.
Cavaliers aren't nearly fin- in months. In fact, things had gotten
ished. After all the injuries, the so bad that "Saturday Night
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James looks to drive on Toronto On Monday night, the Cavs failed Isaiah Thomas exper- Live" did a skit last weekend
Raptors' Pascal Siakam (43), from Cameroon, in the second half completed their second iment, the roster overhaul that went viral on social
of Game 4 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, straight four-game sweep at the trading deadline media called "The Other
Monday, May 7, 2018, in Cleveland. of the Toronto Raptors, the and other distractions, the Cavaliers," a parody that
Associated Press
Cavs, who can get some poked fun at Cleveland's
rest while waiting for the supporting cast.
Philadelphia-Boston win- James, though, said his
ner, are peaking at the faith never wavered.
right time. "I believe in my teammates
Their path to the East finals so as everyone was bury-
wasn't straight. But they ar- ing my teammates alive
rived. "We've had four or throughout that first-round
five seasons wrapped in series, I just continued to tell
one, we know what the them, 'Listen, we can't win
narrative has been about without each and every
our team," said James, one doing their jobs and
who averaged 34 points, being as great as they can
8.3 rebounds and 11.3 as- be," James said. "I contin-
sists in the series. "But I can ued to preach that so it's
only speak in the moment. impossible for me to lose
To be able to put ourselves confidence in our ballclub
in position where we can no matter what the stakes
represent the Eastern Con- are or where we're down
ference in the Finals, that's because if I do that — then
all you can ask for. So we're where are we going to go
excited about being part from a team aspect?"
of the Eastern Conference After winning 59 games
finals once again and hav- in the regular season, the
ing the opportunity to com- Raptors had the East's top
pete for a championship. seed and figured that this
"That is what our goal is." was their year. James had
James has been reluctant other plans.
to discuss the Cavs' chanc- Toronto came into the se-
es to win a title or get back ries feeling great. By the
to the Finals for the fourth end, the Raptors were de-
straight year, but his con- feated and deflated. Ex-
fidence has grown with actly one year since they
each victory. were last swept by James,
Kevin Love, who struggled he did it to them again.q