DPA/Los Angeles
Australian Matthew Dellavedova had the game of his life and the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to the Eastern Conference finals.
Dellavedova scored 11 of his playoff career-high 19 points in the final quarter, helping the visiting Cavaliers crush the Chicago Bulls 94-73 on Thursday to win their semifinal playoff series 4-2.
Dellavadova replaced starting point guard Kyrie Irving, who exited early in the second quarter with a left knee injury and watched from the bench.
“I knew with Kyrie out, I was going to be out there. I pictured myself making important plays in the game,” the second-year backup guard said. “It’s easy to let shots go when your teammates have so much confidence in you. It was nice to be out there able to help the team out tonight.”
LeBron James collected 15 points on a frosty 7-of-23 shooting with 11 assists and nine boards, while Tristan Thompson netted 13 with 17 rebounds for the Cavs, who hit 12-of-27 from behind the arc and dominated the boards, 53-32.
“Give LeBron a lot of credit he’s become a true leader,” Cavs coach David Blatt said. “He’s vocal, he’s out there committed to having his team’s success and what they can do.”
Cleveland advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 2009, and the second seeds will face the winner between the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards.
“I want these guys to be able to feel this moment,” said James, making his fifth conference finals appearance. “That’s what I came back here for.”
Jimmy Butler led the third-seeded Bulls with 20 points, Derrick Rose had 14, while Spaniard Pau Gasol added eight after sitting out the last two games with a left hamstring strain.
“Give them credit,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. “We wanted to give it our best shot but it didn’t happen.”
Without Irving, the Cavs closed the second quarter on a 20-4 run to take a 58-44 cushion at the break.
“They made that run and took control from that point on,” Gasol said.
The Bulls had a chance when the Cavs went scoreless for the first six minutes of the third quarter. But they managed just two points and trailed 73-60 entering the final 12 minutes.
Dellavedova tossed in 11 points in the final frame as the lead grew to as many as 27 before wrapping up the series.
“I’m happy for my guys,” Blatt said. “I know the goals we set. We’re slowly but surely attaining them but we haven’t finished the job. We’re moving forward in a very good way and hope to continue.”
In the West, Corey Brewer and Josh Smith scored 19 points apiece, and combined for 29 in the fourth quarter, as the visiting Houston Rockets stormed from 19 down in the second half to stun the LA Clippers 119-107 and knot their conference semifinal at 3-3.
“We’re resilient and got a no-quit mentality,” Smith said. “We didn’t want to go home this early. This is what we fought for this whole season to force a game 7 at our house.”
Houston hosts the winner-take-all game on Sunday.
“The team that rebounds the ball best and takes care of it is going to win,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said.
James Harden scored 23 points, and Dwight Howard had 20 with 21 rebounds for the second-seeded Rockets, who outscored their hosts 40-15 in the final quarter to avoid elimination for the second straight game.
“We never stopped believing,” Howard said. “Our faith was tested all night. Instead of us folding, we kept it together and we got one more game.”
The Rockets trailed 89-70 late in the third quarter when Harden went to the bench and stayed there, as the visitors closed to within 92-79 entering the final frame.
Sparked by Smith and Brewer, the Rockets went on a 33-10 tear, including 18 unanswered points for a 112-102 lead with 1:16 left, before completing the stunner.
“I could see it in their eyes. I could see they were in a rhythm,” McHale said. “They earned the right to finish that game. They kept hitting shots, so I just let them go.”
Chris Paul had 31 points with 11 assists, while Blake Griffin netted 28 but went scoreless in the final quarter for the third-seeded Clippers, who get a third shot to advance to the conference finals for the first time in the franchise history.
“We just collapsed, we just stopped playing,” said Clippers coach Doc Rivers, whose club shot just 4-of-22 in the fourth frame. “When you give up 40 points you’ve stopped playing.”
“We gave this one away,” he continued. “It’s still 3-3 and we have game 7 but we have to figure out how to get it back.”
Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol 16 of the Chicago Bulls vie for a loose ball with Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third qu
