Cavaliers start hot, Celtics close out strong in Game 2: 3 takeaways
The Cavaliers came out with intensity in Game 2, but the Celtics never stopped fighting to take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
After getting stomped by the Celtics in Game 1 and ran out of the gym, the Cavaliers looked absolutely locked in from the get-go.
Tyronn Lue made the adjustment of going big and inserted Tristan Thompson into Cleveland’s starting lineup for Kyle Korver. The Cavaliers consistently got beat inside during the opening game of the series and opted for Thompson’s defense. It appeared to be an instant solution, with Cleveland dominating the glass and controlling the pace of the game.
However, Boston isn’t a team to turn from a fight. It was a back-and-forth affair with the Cavaliers landing punches and the Celtics throwing them right back. Cleveland took a seven-point lead into halftime but Boston flipped the script and turned it into a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Al Horford’s stats never grab headlines, but he’s the Celtics’ stabilizing rock. After doing his usual act of all-around headiness all night, he scored six-straight Boston points down the stretch to kill any chance of a comeback Cleveland could muster.
Takeaways
LeBron James, destroyer of worlds. I know they lost, but can we take a second to appreciate how unbelievably good LeBron is? You know that scene in Billy Madison where Billy comes out to recess during dodgeball and says “now you’re all in big, big trouble” then lays waste to the first graders? That was LeBron during the first quarter. He scorched the net to a tune of 21 points and four made 3’s, including an expiring-shotclock turnaround fadeaway 3 with Marcus Smart draped all over him.
Unhappy with Game 1’s outcome and his 0-5 performance from beyond the arc, LeBron got to the TD Garden around 10 a.m. to work on his outside shot.
LeBron didn’t look the same after taking a Jayson Tatum shoulder to the face. He cleared the concussion protocol and returned with just a neck strain, but he wasn’t quite right. His shot went cold and the aggression that fueled the Cavaliers tempered.
Boston’s young guys aren’t scared. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, and Scary Terry Rozier asserted themselves all game long, uniting for 63 points on a shared 24-of-55 shooting. This is a resilient bunch and none of them are shying away from the pressure of the situation. To think, they’re only scratching the surface of what they can become.
Their amalgam of length, athleticism, and ferocity proved to be too much for the Cavaliers to overcome. Just watching wave after wave of their swarming defense was tiring, so I can’t imagine playing against it. Per ESPN’s stats, Cleveland’s paltry 22-point third quarter was a product of only attempting two uncontested shots.
Next: The Celtics have the depth to defend LeBron James in ways the Pacers, Raptors couldn’t
Cleveland can’t keep getting nothing from their role players. LeBron did his usual heavy lifting with a 42 point-10 rebound-12 assist triple-double. Kevin Love played strong all game with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Kyle Korver poured in 11 points in the first half, then went frigid. The rest of the team combined to score 19. NINETEEN! Once things started going south, the Cavaliers collectively slumped their shoulders. Now they’re at the bottom of an 0-2 hole with only each other to dig themselves out. Off to Cleveland for Game 3.