Celtics rally from 21 down to stun Cavs 111-108

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Avery Bradley made a 3-pointer with less than a second left as the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-108 on Sunday night in the Eastern Conference finals Game 3, going 2-1 on the series.

The Celtics trailed by 21 points in the third quarter before staging a strong comeback, although they did it without star Isaiah Thomas, who was sidelined for the rest of the postseason due to a hip injury.

"Everybody had to step up their game tonight especially with one of our brothers down," Marcus Smart said. "Our love and support goes out to Isaiah. We wish he could be here but we understand. We just kept fighting. Everybody did their part."

Smart made seven 3-pointers and scored 27 points. Bradley had 20 points for the Celtics and forward Jae Crowder finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, and Kevin Love had 28 for Cleveland. LeBron James finished with 11 points and six turnovers.

"I had a tough game. Period. Not just in the second half," James said. "Me personally, I didn't have it. My teammates did a great job of keeping us in the game and building that lead, but me personally, I didn't have it. That's what I've got to say about my performance."

Game 4 is Tuesday in Cleveland with the Cavs up 2-1 in the series.