Cavaliers crush Celtics to grab top spot in Eastern Conference: 3 takeaways

The surging Cleveland Cavaliers demolished the Boston Celtics last night at TD Garden, to reclaim the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

There was reasonable anticipation surrounding Wednesday night’s matchup between the Cavaliers and Celtics. It quickly dissipated as LeBron and company overwhelmed the Celtics in their 114-91 victory. The 23-point win was the Cleveland’s largest ever in Boston, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The rout began when LeBron James completely took over the game in the second quarter. LeBron got to the rim at will as the Cavaliers outscored the Celtics by 16 in the frame. He poured in 36 points on 64 percent shooting along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists. The Cavaliers scored 58 points in the paint and outrebounded the Celtics by 13.

Isaiah Thomas finished with 26 points and 6 assists for the Celtics, but he did not get much help from his teammates. By the time the supporting group started contributing, the game was out of reach. The Celtics struggled mightily and shot 7-for-33 from the 3-point line.

Takeaways

Help: LeBron James has a surplus. Isaiah Thomas has a deficit. And as the game progressed, it was the most glaring difference. Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are considerably better than Al Horford and Avery Bradley. Last night, the former group outscored the latter 34-16.

Bradley missed all but 1 of his 8 shot attempts and finished the game with a plus-minus of -22. Horford continues to grossly underwhelm considering the staggering contract he signed last summer. The Celtics’ top reserves Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown combined for 6 points on 2-for-15 shooting.

There is no margin of error for the Celtics. Isaiah Thomas is really good, but they have no chance against the Cavaliers in a seven-game series, if his teammates don’t perform well.

Streaking: The Cavaliers seem to have awaken from their 2017 slumber. After losing 10 games in March, they have now won 4 straight and own sole possession of the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

While their defense remains suspicious, their offense is soaring. The Cavaliers are averaging 123.3 points per game during their win streak. They shot 47 percent from the field and 94 percent from the free throw line against the Celtics on Wednesday night.

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Cavaliers answered the bell in a substantial way. They got whatever they wanted against the Celtics and seemed motivated to send a message.

Wrecking ball: LeBron James was not in the mood to give the Celtics any false sense of hope. He tormented them on both ends of the floor and spent time with fans in the process.

LeBron rendered Celtics’ defenders helpless as he routinely discarded one after another, to remind Boston fans who’s still in charge. His career scoring average versus the Celtics is 29.6 points per game, which is higher than any other opponent.

Next: James Harden will do something crazy in the final week of the season

Though he downplayed the game, LeBron hears the chatter about the Celtics being a threat to his throne. So he used the platform of last night’s nationally televised game to put everyone on notice.