Cavaliers sweep Hawks in NBA finals

Matthew Dellavedova is one step away from another NBA finals appearance after Cleveland's one-point win over Atlanta.

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) celebrates with teammates

The Cleveland Cavaliers have secured a four-game NBA playoff sweep of the Atlanta Hawks. (AAP)

Matthew Dellavedova and the Cleveland Cavaliers are headed back to the NBA's Eastern Conference finals but Patty Mills' San Antonio Spurs are locked deep in a tough struggle to progress in the west.

The Cavaliers completed a four-game series sweep of the Atlanta Hawks with a thrilling 100-99 away win on Sunday.

They now await the winner of the Toronto Raptors v Miami Heat series, where Toronto lead 2-1.

Kevin Love led the way for the Cavaliers with 27 points while superstar LeBron James added 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists as he progressed to the conference finals for the sixth time in six years.

"We're in a great rhythm right now," James said.

"We know where everyone is on the floor and exactly where we should be."

Australian guard Dellavedova played his usual 15 minutes off the bench for the Cavs.

In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant went on a scoring spree as the hosts beat the Spurs 111-97 to lock up their series at 2-2.

The four-time NBA scoring champion matched his career playoff high with 41 points for the Thunder./

Durant had 29 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half. He scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, one more than the Spurs, and did it on 6-for-6 shooting.

"When you have a deep team, those 40-point nights - they don't come a lot," he said. "I'm just trying to be consistent in what I do, and I know in any given moment, I can go off and get a few shots."

Teammate Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points and 15 assists while Dion Waiters added 17 points and Steven Adams had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Tony Parker led San Antonio with 22 points while Leonard had 21 and LaMarcus Aldridge 20.

"Durant got away from us," San Antonio's Kawhi Leonard said.

"Westbrook did a great job getting his teammates involved. But (they) got those offensive rebounds when we'd get him to miss."

Like Dellavedova, Mills is a reliable bench player for his team and he scored four points from his 15 minutes.

The Spurs and Thunder are battling to meet the winner between Andrew Bogut's Golden State Warriors and the Portland Trail Blazers, with the Warriors leading 2-1.

Coach Steve Kerr said it was highly unlikely superstar point guard Stephen Curry would return from his knee ligament sprain to boost the Warriors in game four, having missed all three games so far.

"I would just say he's doubtful for tomorrow," Kerr told reporters Sunday, "but slowly and surely making progress."


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Source: AAP



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