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*Photo via USA Today
Cavs VS. Celtics Game Two
For the second game in a row, in this first-round series, the Boston Celtics had a lead at the end of the first quarter. For the second consecutive game they would lose that lead in the second quarter, and eventually lose game two. The Celtics came out of the gates hot, building an eight point lead after a 15-3 run. That was soon met by eight straight from the Cavs after a Cleveland time-out. It was a back and forth first half, that saw seven ties and eight lead changes, with the Cavs eventually taking a one point lead into halftime.
The Cavs opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run, that saw Boston miss nine of their first 10 shots. The Cavs in the third quarter, increased their lead to 14, their largest lead of the game. During the Cavs run early in the third, they got the crowd into it with two highlight plays, an alley oop from LeBron James to Kevin Love, and then an outlet pass from Love to Kyrie Irving, who alley ooped it to LeBron.
Boston withstood the run and cut the lead to seven to start the fourth. They continued their momentum from the last minutes of the third quarter to the fourth. The Cavs lead shrunk to two with seven minutes to play. This was thanks in large part to Isiah Thomas, who scored 11 of his 22 in the fourth quarter.
LeBron put his foot down and took it upon himself to take over the game. He proceeded to score 15 of his 30 points in the fourth, and the Cavs went on to win 99-91
Player of the Game
LeBron James- He did have six turnovers, but you can’t go against a guy who scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. He shot 11-22 and added nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocks in 42 minutes.
Dud of the Game
Brandon Bass- He was completely ineffective, playing just 15 minutes scoring just two points without making a field goal, missing all six shots he took and grabbing just two rebounds.
Stat of the Game- Boston had nine offensive rebounds to the Cavs three in the first half, Cleveland then got nine offensive rebounds of their own to Boston’s four in the second half. This was leading to more second chance points for the Cavs.
The Celtics have to feel good about themselves to have led after a quarter for the second straight game, and were only down one at halftime. They took the Cavs best punches and responded to every run they made with a run of their own. Keeping it closer than game one. Avery Bradley played aggressive defense on Kyrie and didn’t allow him to “go off” again, but they just couldn’t overcome what most other teams in the league haven’t been able to overcome, the greatness of LeBron James. The Celtics actually did a good job defending LeBron for three quarters, but as the greats do they can turn it on when it matters and there is little you can do to stop them.
The Celtics had a slim shot of winning more than a game in this series, but have held their own and deserve a lot of credit. Cleveland is going to have to play a lot better in Boston, and is going to need to get more out of Love who was a non-factor with foul trouble. Timothy Mozgov was able to step up for Love, scoring 16 points on seven of 11 shots.
Game three is on Thursday in Boston at 7pm on TNT