(CNN Philippines) — The Cleveland Cavaliers defended homecourt against the Atlanta Hawks with a 114-111 overtime win in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference Finals on Monday (May 25 PHT).
The Cavaliers are now one win away from their first Finals appearance since 2007.
With shooting guard Kyle Korver already out for the series, the Hawks needed a superb team effort to stop a resurgent Cavaliers side. What they didn’t anticipate was getting Al Horford ejected from the game because a flagrant-2 foul after dropping an elbow on the Cavs’ Matthew Dellavedova late in the second quarter.
Horford’s absence hurt the Hawks the rest of the way as LeBron James took over to finish with a triple double – 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 13 assists.
It was a milestone game for James as he surpassed Karl Malone for sixth place in the all-time playoffs scoring list.
Read: Cavs shoot down Hawks for 2-0 series lead
Down by nine points, Atlanta went on a 16-4 run late in the fourth quarter to gain a 100-97 advantage. But after a few plays the score was knotted at 104.
The Hawks had a chance to win but Jeff Teague missed a three-pointer at the horn, sending the game into overtime.
Both teams went back and forth at each other in the extra session before Teague knocked down a triple to put Atlanta in front, 111-109.
James quickly responded on the other end with a try of his own and made a layup with 12 seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a three-point edge, 114-111.
The Hawks were looking to force a second overtime but Shelvin Mack couldn’t convert on two of his three-point attempts, securing the win for the Cavs.
Teague scored 30 points, while Paul Millsap contributed 22 for the Hawks.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be played in Cleveland on Wednesday (May 27 PHT).
