When healthy, the Wine and Gold are loaded with offensive weaponry. But they can be just as impressive on the other end – and when they decide to clamp down on an opponent defensively, they’re almost impossible to beat.
In what was billed as a bare-knuckle grudge match between the up-and-coming Celtics and a veteran Cavaliers’ team that swept them out of the playoffs last year, the Cavaliers actually made it look easy after intermission – holding Boston to just 31 points in the second stanza and pulling away late for the 89-77 win on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.
The last time the Cavaliers took on the Celtics in Boston, it was to wrap up their First Round playoff series in four games. But that contest came at a cost – with Kevin Love suffering a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the postseason and J.R. Smith earning a two-game suspension after decking Jae Crowder.
In this year’s meeting, Love put the past behind him and had a rock-solid performance – finishing with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting, adding eight boards and a game-high five assists. Smith put aside the distraction of Crowder’s demand for an apology and finished with nine points and joining his teammates to smother Boston defensively.
LeBron James, going up against the team he’s tortured throughout his Hall of Fame career, led all scorers with 24 points – going an even 10-of-20 from the floor to go with seven boards, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Timofey Mozgov had another solid outing for Cleveland, netting nine points on 4-of-5 shooting while registering game-highs in both rebounds (10) and blocked shots (3).
Mo Williams added 10 points and three assists and Tristan Thompson, nine rebounds, off the Cavaliers’ bench.
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