The Cavaliers beat the Celtics at the TD Garden to retain the first spot in the Eastern Conference behind LeBron's 36 points, 6 assists and 10 rebounds. The game started intensely, as the crowd booed LeBron James every time he touched the ball. Kyrie Irving had 19 points and Kevin Love added a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Isaiah Thomas finished the game with 26 points for the Celtics, but he shot only 1 of 8 from the three point line. The Cavs outrebounded the Celtics 51 to 38, while adding seven steals and five blocks.
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers played without starting center Tristan Thompson, who was out with a sprained right thumb. But his absence wasn't bothering his teammates, as they surged at the start of the second quarter and had as much as a 29-point lead in the third quarter. They also outrebounded Boston by 13. LeBron James and the company have four games left on their schedule and need three more wins to secure the top seed.
Schedule: vs Atlanta, at Atlanta, at Miami, vs Toronto
The Boston Celtics
"The Celtics poop their paints in biggest game of the season" - that was the headline in the "The Sports Dialy" this morning, written by the Red's Army, the voice of Boston Celtics fans. So, it's obvious that fans are pissed and disappointed with the result.
It was a one team show or a one man show, as LeBron James almost single-handedly beat the Celtics. Their bench was embarrassing. At one point late in the third quarter, the bench players had three points, shooting just 1 of 15. It was a really poor overall performance by Boston. They now need to recover and focus on their schedule, then try to win all four remaining games and hope that Cleveland will lose two games, in order to regain the first position.
Schedule: at Atlanta, at Charlotte, vs Brooklyn, vs Milwaukee
The silver lining in all this is that Al Horford still won the Auerbach award. This award goes to the player who best exemplifies what it means to be a Celtic. Al probably clinched it the moment he agreed to come to Boston.
