Cavaliers complete four-game sweep of Celtics

BOSTON — The Cleveland Cavaliers completed their four-game first-round sweep of the Boston Celtics with a 101-93 victory but also suffered the potentially disastrous loss of forward Kevin Love with an injured left shoulder on Sunday.

ESPN reported Love had suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first physical event of a physical day that also saw Cleveland guard J.R. Smith ejected for smacking and injuring Boston forward Jae Crowder in the third quarter — after Crowder had been flattened by center Kendrick Perkins in the first half.

Love was injured with 5:22 left in the first quarter of the game that ended Boston’s season and sent the second-seeded Cavs into the Eastern Conference semifinals against the winner of the Chicago Bulls-Milwaukee Bucks series. The Bulls lead that best-of-seven 3-1.

Forward LeBron James scored 27 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists as the Cavs built a 21-point halftime lead and held off a Boston charge that brought the Celtics as close as eight early in the fourth quarter.

Boston shaved the lead to six with 37.1 seconds remaining, got the ball back on a turnover a second later but forward Gigi Datome missed a 3-pointer and Irving nailed two free throws to build the lead back to eight.

Love was chasing a long rebound with Boston forward Kelly Olynyk, whose right arm locked around Love’s left. A foul was called on Olynyk and Love grabbed his shoulder and ran off the court and straight to the locker room at the opposite corner of the court.

Love left with his team leading 19-10 with 5:22 left in the first quarter. His injury was just the start of a physical affair.

A mini scuffle broke out in the second quarter when former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, trying to free James from Crowder, hammered the Celtic to the floor. Crowder got up and approached Perkins, who flicked him near his left eye with a finger as they were being separated. Perkins was called for a Flagrant-1 foul and both players received technical fouls.

Perkins, who played 2:08 in the first three games, had just checked in 18 seconds before the get-together, But with Love gone, the extra body was needed.

Perkins and Crowder exchanged heated words during a 2013 game, when Perkins was with Oklahoma City and Crowder with Dallas.

Then, in the third quarter, Smith was ejected after he and Crowder jockeyed for rebounding position, and the ever-volatile Smith, who received a push in the back from Crowder, flailed back with his right arm and sent Crowder to the floor. While Smith seemed to be apologizing, Crowder lay on the floor and was then helped to the locker room with a left knee sprain.

Smith was called for a Flagrant-2 foul and ejected.

James led his team to a 56-35 halftime lead with 13 points five rebounds and six assists.

Guard Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 11 rebounds, guard Iman Shumpert 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and center Timofey Mozgov 12 points and 11 boards.

Forward Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while guard Isaiah Thomas scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and added nine assists before fouling out with 23.9 seconds left. Thomas, who scored 22 points in each of the first two games of the series, was 4-of-17 Sunday and 6-of-26 in the final two games — 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

Guard Avery Bradley added 16 points for Boston.

The Celtics were 3-of-23 from 3-point range and 22-of-35 from the foul line Sunday. Cleveland won the game despite going 7-of-33 from downtown and missing 11 free throws.

With their team on the brink with a minute left, the home crowd broke into a “Let’s Go Celtics” chant, and the team — which over-achieved by winning 40 games in the regular season, 15 more than last year — was given an ovation of appreciation as James dribbled out the game’s final seconds.

As the teams were shaking hands at midcourt, the “Let’s Go Celtics” chant broke out again.

NOTES: Celtics coach Brad Stevens made a change in his starting lineup, inserting F Jae Crowder for rookie G Marcus Smart. Smart overslept and was late for the shootaround, but Stevens said Crowder would have started, anyway, after scoring 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds off the bench in Game 3. “Jae has been very good this series,” Stevens said. Crowder, who received a major ovation from the crowd when his name was announced in the starting lineup, averaged 12 points and 5.7 rebounds in the first three games. … Cleveland F LeBron James was going for the first clinching win of his career at TD Garden. He met the Celtics twice previously with the Miami Heat and once during his first stay in Cleveland but this was the first time his team had a chance to clinch in Boston. … The Cavaliers were going for their fourth four-game sweep in franchise history.