At the start of the fourth quarter, it looked like the Cavaliers – up 18 and coasting – might have the luxury of emptying their bench to get guys rested for their New Year’s Eve matchup in Charlotte.
But the young Celtics had a different idea. And although the Wine and Gold still got the win, it took everything they had to fight off a Boston squad that cut Cleveland’s 20-point lead to just one late in the fourth.
In the end, however, the Celtics couldn’t contain LeBron James and Mr. Fourth Quarter, Kyrie Irving – who scored on two huge buckets in the final 1:20 to keep Boston from taking the late lead. Kevin Love’s two free throws put the Celtics’ rally down for good – canning a pair to give Cleveland the 124-118 victory on Thursday night at The Q.
The Cavaliers scored 30-plus points in all four quarters of their November 3 win over Boston and did the same thing through three periods on Thursday – taking the lead early in the second quarter and extending it to 20 on DeAndre Liggins free throws late in the third.
Boston turned to its bench in the final period and they responded by going on a 17-6 run to start the quarter. The Celtics starters took over from there, with Avery Bradley – who sunk the Cavaliers on a buzzer-beater from the corner last season – scoring on a dunk to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 113-112.
But Boston couldn’t get over the hump – with LeBron and Kyrie stymying them down the stretch. With the Cavs up, 112-118, with 8.5 to play, Jae Crowder missed an open three-pointer that would have given the Celtics their first lead of the second half. Richard Jefferson snagged the rebound and canned a pair of free throws to put the affair on ice.
Each of Cleveland’s Big Three doubled-up in Thursday’s win.
Kyrie Irving notched nine of his game-high 32 points in the fourth quarter – going 4-for-6 in the period and 12-for-17 from the floor overall, leading both teams with 12 assists to go with five boards and three steals. It marked the fifth time in Kyrie’s last seven games that he’s handed out double-digit assists.
As usual, Kevin Love did his heavy lifting early – tallying 11 of his 30 points in the first period. The only player in the Eastern Conference averaging at least 20 points and 10 boards, Love netted his team-leading 19th double-double of the season – finishing with 30 points and a game-high 15 rebounds in the win.
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