It looked like the Celtics were on their way to tying up the Eastern Conference finals.
Cavaliers forward LeBron James was in foul trouble early and the Celtics had quieted the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena.
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Then Kyrie Irving heated up.
After James went to the bench with four fouls with 6:46 remaining in the second quarter, Irving scored 35 of his game-high 42 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112-99 win over the Celtics to push Boston to the brink of elimination with a 3-1 series lead.
The Celtics held a 57-47 halftime lead, but the Cavaliers came out of the break on fire. The Cavs shot 76 percent from the floor in the third quarter, led by Irving's 13-for-16 shooting. Irving scored 19 of Cleveland's final 21 points in the quarter, including a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Uncle Drew took over in the 3Q with 21 points! #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/BPP1wEzha1
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 24, 2017
James went to the bench midway through the second quarter after reserve guard Terry Rozier drew an offensive foul. It was the first time James ever had four fouls in the first half of a game in his career. He had only been called for four fouls in a playoff game three times over the last two years.
Rozier, who is seeing more playing time because of the hip injury that will keep Isaiah Thomas out of the playoffs, pestered and frustrated the Cavs for much of the half. The 6-2 guard from Louisville was not much of a factor in the second half, however, as the Cavs adjusted.
The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 65-42 in the second half, thanks to Irving's playoff career high in points. James also shook off his shaky start to rebound from a 13-point game in Sunday's Game 3 loss. James finished with 34 points and did not get called for a foul in the second half.
While Irving and James were scoring, Kevin Love dominated the glass with 17 rebounds to go with 17 points.
The Cavs will look to close out the series Thursday and return to the NBA Finals for the third straight year.
"Coming out of halftime, we wanted to leave it all on the floor," Irving, who went off despite rolling his ankle late in the third quarter, told TNT following the game. "We need to fight adversity to reach our goal. Whatever we have to do, sacrifice everything to attain our goal, and that's to get back to the Finals."
