NBA Playoffs 2018: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Game 2 live stream: Watch online
By Jason Patt
After a dominant Game 1 victory, the Boston Celtics will look to go up 2-0 on LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Boston Celtics entered Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals without a home loss in the playoffs, so a victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers wasn’t too surprising. What was surprising was the nature of the game, which saw the Celtics blow the doors off the Cavaliers in a 108-83 shellacking. Cleveland will have to regroup quickly for Tuesday’s Game 2 to avoid falling in an 0-2 hole.
Brad Stevens chose to go with a smaller starting lineup for Game 1 by replacing Aron Baynes with Marcus Morris. Morris responded by going for 21 points and 10 rebounds, plus stellar defense against LeBron James to back up some pre-series boasting.
Al Horford was also terrific, going for 20 points, six assists and four rebounds. Horford and Morris combined to shoot 15-of-22 from the field, and Boston’s frontcourt dominance has Tyronn Lue considering moving Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup to play alongside Kevin Love. Thompson had eight points and 11 rebounds off the bench in Game 1, and he has a history of giving Horford fits. If Lue goes ahead and makes this move, Stevens could counter with more Baynes.
No matter what happens with the lineups, the Cavaliers will need a better performance out of LeBron in Game 1. James had his worst game of the postseason with 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting. He committed seven turnovers and was a team-worst minus-32, which tied his worst plus-minus mark of his playoff career.
LeBron missed all five of his 3-pointers as part of a wretched 3-point shooting day for Cleveland. The Cavaliers made only four of their 26 3-point attempts. The Celtics went 11-of-30 from deep, with Jaylen Brown going 3-of-5 en route to a game-high 23 points.
Love had 17 points to lead Cleveland, but he shot just 5-of-14.
Date: Tuesday, May 15
Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Venue: TD Garden
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch live on FuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. Qualified subscribers can also watch on WatchESPN.
Next: All live stream info in one place
LeBron isn’t concerned yet, and it’s just about impossible for the Cavaliers to be as bad again as they were in Game 1. Cleveland should put forth a much better effort in Game 2, but Boston has been unbeatable at home in these playoffs and will be tough to beat.