Wednesday evening brought NBA fans a potential preview of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals. The Boston Celtics hosted LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Cavs seemed to have Boston's number this season, it wasn't the case in this latest meeting. The Celtics left after edging the top Eastern team, 103-99. This latest NBA score could show that Cleveland isn't as strong as some analysts are predicting, or it could simply be a motivated win on the road by a team trying to prove they should be part of the NBA championship discussion.
Thomas propels Celtics' win
Isaiah Thomas has been mentioned in conversations about who should be this season's MVP and rightfully so. On Wednesday night, Thomas scored 31 points and had five assists, along with two steals and two rebounds. Thomas hit at a rate of 10-for-20 from the field, and hit 3-of-9 three-point shots as well as going 8-for-12 from the free throw line.
Helping out the team in the victory were also Jae Crowder and Al Horford. Crowder scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, while former All-Star Horford had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics won the battle of the boards against their Eastern Conference foes 47-41, hit three more three-point shots, and hit three more free throws, showing the differences in a close game.
LeBron's triple-double, Williams' debut
While Russell Westbrook has been notching triple-doubles on a nightly basis, there are other players in the league getting their stats too. LeBron James is definitely in that category and on Wednesday he put in 28 points, dished out 10 assists and snatched 13 rebounds. Teammate Kyrie Irving also scored 28 in the loss.
Recent acquisition Devon Williams made an appearance for his newest team and came off the bench to score four points in 24 minutes of action. Williams finished going 2-for-8 from the field and missing both his three-point shot attempts. However, he contributed an assist and grabbed a few rebounds. The Cleveland Cavaliers team continues to wait for their other acquisition Andrew Bogut to make his debut.
What does it all mean?
A win is a win as they say, and this one probably shouldn't be overlooked or underplayed. It shows that Boston has what it takes to defeat Cleveland, even when James and Irving combine for over 50 points together. However, a series in the playoffs will be more than just one game. The fact that Boston can win on the road shows quite a bit, but keep in mind Cleveland is also able to win just about anywhere. There's also the fact that Kevin Love is expected back for the postseason.
With the win, Boston also gained ground on the top team in the East standings. The Celtics are now 39-22, which has them three games behind Cleveland (41-18) for the standings lead. If Boston can put together a good streak and the Cavs falter a bit more, it could make things more interesting heading toward this year's playoffs.
Most of all, if this particular NBA game's outcome was any indication of what's to come in an Eastern Conference showdown, fans could be in for a treat in a close matchup to determine who goes to the NBA Finals.