The Celtics looked good for a while in their playoff opener, but Kyrie Irving proved too much to handle. The All-Star guard shot 11-21, with 5 treys, and topped all scorers with 30 points as host Cleveland beat Boston, 113-100, to take Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
Boston led by as many as 8 points early and threw a scare into the Cavs, but the game turned in the 2nd quarter when Irving made all four of his 3-point attempts. Tristan Thompson also led a 10-1 Cleveland advantage on the offensive boards, resulting in 14 damaging 2nd-chance points for the home team at halftime.
The underdog Celtics didn’t look nervous at the start. Boston shot 12-21 (57.1%) to take a 31-27 lead after 12 minutes. On his birthday, Kelly Olynyk made his mark early after Tyler Zeller got hosed into early foul trouble. KO scored 10 points in 6:37 of 1st-quarter playing time, including two treys and a slam on a drive down the lane. Zeller and Isaiah Thomas chipped in 6 points each in their playoff debuts.
In the 2nd quarter, Boston was in control, 38-31, after Marcus Smart strung together a layup, FT and 3-pointer. Irving and J.R. Smith then hit consecutive contested threes to cut the lead to a point. Evan Turner answered with a midrange jumper, but Kevin Love tied it at 40 with a trey, his first points of the game. Boston struggled for the rest of the quarter, dipping to 47% from the field and committing 6 turnovers for 8 Cavs points. Irving bombed in a trey at the buzzer (he had 20 points in the half) and Cleveland went to the break ahead, 62-54.
The 3rd quarter was a roller coaster. The Cavs ran off 7 straight – including Irving’s fifth 3-pointer – to push their lead to 13. Love warmed up, scoring 8 points as Cleveland extended to its largest lead, 82-62. Then, as they’ve done so many times this season, Boston got back in with a 14-0 run, led by IT and Jae Crowder with 5 apiece. But just as quickly, a bad turnover by Thomas broke the momentum and Cleveland closed the quarter with 9 in a row, capped by James Jones’ three at the buzzer. Cavs led, 91-76.
When LeBron James opened the 4th with another trey, the lead was back to 18. Boston fought to the end but could get no closer than 10. LeBron scored 20 points for Cleveland, and Love overcame a shaky first half to finish with 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Green:
Thomas led the Celtics with 22 points and 10 assists.
The Celts had six players in double figures.
Boston kept LeBron mostly in check. He shot 8-18 but didn’t dominate the game as he’s done against the Celtics many times.
It’s just one game. The entire roster and the head coach also now have playoff experience.
The Gross:
Avery Bradley shot just 3-10 and scored 7 points. He had back-to-back airball threes in late 4th quarter.
The tendency of officials to give Cleveland the benefit of the doubt could be a problem this series. Less than 2 minutes into the game, LeBron picked up a cheap foul, so the refs made it up to him by ignoring his clear hack of Zeller and a goaltend on an IT layup. Even the ABC announcers admitted to these missed calls.
One of Irving’s 1st-half treys was reviewed by the officials, and even though his foot was on the line they did not overrule.
Cleveland hit buzzer-beating threes to close the 2nd AND 3rd quarters.
The Greenlights:
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The Grid:
- Both teams made 37 field goals. Boston shot 46.8%, Cleveland 45.1%.
- Cleveland made 13 treys to Boston’s 8.
- Free throws: Cleveland, 26-33; Boston, 18-22.
- This was the Cavs’ first playoff game in Cleveland since the Celtics crushed them in Game 5 of the 2010 East semifinals.
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