Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics Game 3: What We Learned

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May 21, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) celebrates a three point basket by guard Avery Bradley (not pictured) in the fourth quarter against Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

What did we learn after the Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals?

The Boston Celtics pulled out an improbable 111-108 victory to hand the Cleveland Cavaliers their first loss of the postseason.

Avery Bradley hit a game-winning 3 with less than a second to play. He finished the game with 20 points. Besides Bradley, the hero for the Celtics was Marcus Smart who started in place of Isaiah Thomas who will miss the rest of the postseason with a hip injury. He contributed a team high 27 points on 7 of 10 shooting from deep while collecting 7 assists.

Cleveland received solid games from Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving, but that was all overshadowed by LeBron James’s lackluster performance. He was held to just 11 points, none of which came in the fourth quarter.

There’s a lot to take away from this one, but it should be remembered that this is just one game in a seven game series. This could be a game that at the end of the day has very little effect on the remainder of the postseason, or it could be the turning point of the entire season. Only time will tell.

Here’s what we learned from Game 3.