NBA: Delly sinks Bulls

MATTHEW Dellavedova helped Cleveland sink the Chicago Bulls and send the Cavaliers into the eastern conference finals, producing a career-defining match that had the NBA buzzing on Friday. 

The Maryborough native scored 19 points in the Cavaliers’ 94-73 eastern semi-final series-clinching win against the Bulls.

After Cavaliers’ starting point guard Kyrie Irving left the court early with an ankle injury, Dellavedova was given a chance to prove himself on the big stage, and he delivered.

The Chicago fans greeted Dellavedova with boos, with the memories of game five's controversial incident with forward Taj Gibson fresh in their minds. 

But he quickly silenced the home crowd with his stunning performance, starring in both offence and defence.

The back-up point guard finished with 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three-point range.

He also added two rebounds and one assist.

Dellavedova also kept Chicago star Derrick Rose quiet, with the former MVP finishing with just 14 points.

“I’ve pictured myself making important plays in a game, so it was nice to be able to help the team out,” Dellavedova said.

“Kyrie was out for the second-half, so I knew I was going to be out there. 

“It’s easy to let shots go when your team-mates have that much confidence in you.” 

Team-mate LeBron James, who finished with 15-points, was full of praise for the young gun after the match.

“I know he is tough as nails and the one thing about Delly is that he never makes a mistake,” he said. 

“If he does make one mistake, you are okay with that because how hard he plays and how in-tune he is.

“I am so happy for him, I am so proud of him to have a performance like he had.

“We are blessed to have a guy like that.”

The Cavs now advance to the eastern conference finals against either Atlanta or Washington.

Dellavedova was a previous winner of the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Advertiser Prime 7 Sports Star of the Year award.