CLEVELAND -- LeBron James scored 23 points and Kyrie Irving returned from injury as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Atlanta Hawks 118-88 for a 4-0 sweep to book the NBA Finals spot here on Tuesday night.
"I think Cleveland's defense was good the entire series and defensively we've got to be better. We can't just rely on shooting shots. Obviously, we weren't good enough. They were just better than us in the series. They deserved to win," said the Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Irving, who missed Cleveland's previous two games with tendinitis in his left knee, scored 16 points. J.R. Smith grabbed 18 points and Tristan Thompson added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavs, which missed forward Kevin Love due to a season-ending shoulder injury, for the first two rounds.
Jeff Teague scored 17 points and Paul Millsap grabbed 16 points for Atlanta, which became the first franchise to go 17-0 in a calendar month and won a team-record 60 games during the regular season.
James scored 15 in the first half after missing his first 10 shots to help the Cavs enjoy a 17-point lead at the break. The Cavs expanded it to 20 points early in the third and spent the fourth quarter playing their reserves.
