Prior to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, a Cavs big man drill between Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov turned bloody Sunday night.
#Cavs C Timofey Mozgov just headed off floor with bloody nose after Tristan Thompson dunked on him during drill.
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) May 24, 2015
Thompson’s dunk led to his elbow connecting with Mozgov’s nose, and we had a bleeder.
Both guys did just fine in the thrilling 114-111 victory against the Atlanta Hawks.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
No one will read about double-digit rebounds regarding Tristan Thompson’s performance Sunday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, one the Cavs won in overtime 114-111. The Cavs now own a 3-0 lead in the series. […] Though the numbers are respectable [10 points, seven rebounds], his contributions came down to two huge plays – one in regulation and a more significant one in the overtime.
Thompson, playing with five fouls since the 6:09 mark of the fourth quarter, worked as if he had no worries. In the overtime, he grabbed an offensive rebound with 36.9 seconds left on the clock and the Cavs trailing 111-109. He found a wide-open LeBron James in the left corner of the court and James connected on his only three-point shot of six attempts on the night. […] “When I got that rebound I was hoping I didn’t get pushed out of bounds like the last one [just moments before], but I stayed in bound,” he said. “Got my balance and looked for the open teammate and that was LeBron.” James drilled the shot to put the Cavs up by one.
“The offensive rebound by Double T was huge,” James said. “I seen it in his mind that he wanted to go back up for the shot, but I yelled his name as loud as I could yell it because I wanted another opportunity at it.” Thompson said that particular rebound immediately shot to the top of his list as the best in his career because of its importance given the situation. […] “I’m important to this team in terms of being able to switch out, block shots,” he said. “I’ve got to be able to choose my times, but that opportunity right there was a great time to grab it and I’m just thankful I was able to do that and make a play.”
