Recap: Celtics 117, Cavs 113 (Or, that’s one way to clinch the league’s best record)
2010-04-04
Overview: After dominating the first three quarters, the Boston Celtics were able to hold off a late push by the Cavaliers to hold onto a 117-113 victory. The Cavaliers were able to overcome a 22-point deficit at one point, but came up short in the game’s final minutes. LeBron James led all scorers with 42 points, but missed a potential go-ahead three with four seconds left to play.
Cavs-Related Bullets:
-It’s a good thing the Spurs game made this one moot in terms of the standings. If this had been a playoff game, I would be absolutely miserable and furious right now.
-It’s a bit of a cliche, but this was not a game the Cavs deserved to win. The defense wasn’t there at all in the first three quarters. The Celtics were moving the ball really well, Rondo and Allen were both really effective off the dribble. They were executing their sets and rewarding movement with the extra pass. They even did a great job pushing the ball and getting easy baskets in transition.
-I’ve said before that the Celtics seem to go as Rondo goes when they play the Cavs. On Sunday, Rondo was aggressive all game, and finished with 16 points and 14 assists as the Celtics hung 117 on the Cavs.
-In a game this close, the little things hurt. Four technical fouls, and the Celtics converted all four of the free throws. The Cavs turn it over with two seconds left in the half, and Rondo hits a three at the buzzer. LeBron and Jamison combine to miss TWELVE FREE THROWS, which was absolutely inexcusable. When you let the game get close, you risk losing because of things like that.
-LeBron. I’m not sure he’s capable of playing much worse than he did in the first half. He came out gunning early instead of doing what he usually does, and he wasn’t making his shots. His jumper was way, way off. He had trouble finishing at the rim. He didn’t look very engaged, and his talent wasn’t enough to bail him out. In the third quarter, he started to show some signs. Then he just went off in the fourth.
LeBron scored 20 points in the fourth. His scoring and assists accounted for 27 of the Cavs’ 32 points in the quarter. Meanwhile, the entire Celtics team only put up 19 points in the quarter. What’s even scarier than the production is the way he was doing it. He wasn’t making jumpers or doing anything all that tricky; he was just attacking the basket over and over again, bullying through contact, and getting finish after finish. Absolutely incredible.
Then LeBron went ahead and laid an egg with the game on the line. Two missed free throws in the final 24 seconds. Then, going full speed on a tw0-on-two break with four seconds left, LeBron decided to pull up for a three. You can say LeBron might not have known how much time there was. You can say LeBron didn’t want to go back to the line. You can say he was following the doctrine of “go for the tie at home and the win on the road.”
In my opinion, LeBron had an “I’m LeBron James and I can do this” moment. We have home-court almost completely locked up. I’ve scored 20 points this quarter. If I hit this, it’s a signature moment, the Celtics will have nightmares about me, and the writers fall over themselves to make me the unanimous MVP. If I miss, no big deal. Let’s see if I can pull this off.
Well, he bricked it. It makes me crazy when he takes those shots in garbage time, but you take the good with the bad. With the season’s best record locked up, every game is garbage time to some extent. Do I understand why LeBron did what he did? Yes. Do I like it? No, not at all. But it is what it is. Better to have it happen in this game than in the playoffs.
-Well, Doc Rivers was watching the Final Four.
-My theory on Antawn Jamison — he’s a wonderful player, but he makes you pay a possession tax. He’s great moving without the ball and finishing, he’s a monster on the block, he can make open threes, and he can provide some scoring punch off the bench. But he’s going to take a few contested catch-and-shoot deep twos that he shouldn’t take every game, and it’s something you have to live with. Also, the free throws.
-Z looked more comfortable offensively than he has in a while. He made some deep jumpers, was moving without the ball, and even put the ball on the floor for a finger-roll. He did look a step or four slow defensively against Rondo, though.
-Game to forget for Delonte, who didn’t get any points and never looked comfortable at all on the offensive end. Fortunately, AP was making shots, so the Cavs got some production out of the two-guard position.
-Mo hit all six of his shots in the first half, then didn’t attempt a field goal in the third and wasn’t on the court in the fourth. Strange.
-Man, that Tony Allen goaltend on AP’s three attempt was atrocious, but he redeemed himself by making a nice cut and scoring on the next Celtics possession.
-Mike Brown went OFF at that referee. Who else is kinda surprised he had that in him?
-When Ray Allen is on, watch out. Some of those shots were barely hitting the net.
-Hickson had a solid double-double against the Celtics, and it barely seems worth noting. Absolutely incredible how much he’s improved over the second half of the season.
-LeBron missed 14 jumpers on Sunday. Yeesh.
-Alright, that’s all I have for right now. Cavs will have the best record in the league for the 2nd consecutive regular season. Try to muster up some enthusiasm, even if it’s tough after this game.
Aside from winning the ship, the thing that excites be most about the playoffs this year is Lebron. We saw the level he was able to take it to last year, and this year he’s better. I can’t wait to see what he’s got in store for us.
I think the Cavs are prime to win the championship this year. The only thing I fear is Lebron’s jumper. I wish someone from the coaching staff would encourage him to stop taking so many jumpers & attack the basket! Why shoot a jumper, when you can get to the basket at will?
20 points in the fourth quarter is ridiculous. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen Lebron so angry. The moral of this story is don’t make Lebron mad. Windhorst has an article out about how he feels that Lebron would like to play the Celitics in the postseason. I like the rivalry the Cavs and Celtics are starting. I think the Cavs could be the bad boys of the East. We’ve got more than enough muscle to back it up.
I honestly think the Cavs will sweep the Celtics if they meet in the playoffs. People don’t realize how important Varejao is to this team. Our defense without him (especially baseline help) is not good at all. As Windhorst pointed out, he’s the Celtics 2nd most hard to handle Cav. The Cavs need to get everyone healthy and rested at this point. Yes you want to go into the playoffs on a roll, but honestly it won’t matter much. Even if they struggled in the first or 3 games of the first round, they will be fine once everyone gets… Read more »
Fantastic move by Mike Brown getting those two Ts. Needed to happen and it changed the team’s intensity level. Refs were bad all the way around this game. LeBron got hit about 27 times going to hole in the 4th quarter. People think he shot a lot of FTs already, but he should have shot a lot more. Perkins got freaking tackled on the FT line when he missed his 2nd shot. Paul Pierce should have fouled out early in the 4th, as he fouled LeBron everytime down the floor. Bad, bad officiating…good job by Mike Brown realizing it and… Read more »
KG didn’t get in LeBron’s head because LeBron had nothing to lose with this game. The Celtics were the ones that needed a win. LeBron thought, All right, let’s give ’em a show and see what happens. I think with LeBron’s comments at the end of the game, there is still a door that needs to be shut, with great froce, and he wants to be the one doing the slamming come playoff time.
I’d also argue that Mo was out because he wasn’t providing strong defense against Rondo. Rondo’s production in the first 3 quarters was double the rate of that in the fourth (i.e. averaged 4 pts and 4 asst per quarter through 3, the 2 pts 2 asst in the fourth). Plus, that’s the second time that I’ve seen Mo not pressure the ball on an inbounds at the end of a half/quarter. He lets it get all the way across half court, so the shooter gets a good look, and nails a buzzer three. Ridiculous. I liked Mo last year,… Read more »
Leo,
Now the national media has somehow redefined this game into a momentum-changer. What? I could see momentum changing if they trashed the Cavs by 20, as it looked like they would in the 3rd, but nearly coughing up a 20 point game at home? Those old men’s legs are tired. I think they’re lucky if they get out of the first round, though I’d love to see the Cavs face them in the second.
Mo had a rib injury thats why he was out in the 4th…otherwise he wouldve been in and hitting 3’s since he couldnt miss…a frustrating but exciting game to watch…the Celts are toast…you dont have a 20 pt lead on a rival in an important game and then nearly give it away like that…had the Cavs pulled this off…all national media wouldve been ripping the Celts non stop and questioning whether they can make out of first round of playoffs… Lebron was horrible shooting the ball and I was amazed he had that many points…they seemed to come out of… Read more »
From a percentages standpoint, the 3 attempt in the last seconds was absolutely the right move by LeBron. Technically speaking, he’s got at least a 35% chance of ending the game right there, as opposed to driving it and getting a bucket just to send it into OT. Once in OT, again technically speaking, they Cavs have no better than a 50% chance of winning (realistically perhaps a little more). Worse yet, on the 2 on 2 break, there’s a big chance one of the defenders would’ve prevented the shot by fouling. The way things were going, having LeBron make… Read more »
The thing that worries me is having no momentum or rhythm heading into the playoffs with our rotations. These guys haven’t played with each other in months, and we’re just going to assume that because they are all healthy by April 18th that everything will be OK? I bet LeBron plays 24 minutes or fewer in the next three games and sits out the final two. The only good thing that will come of this are more Danny Green sightings and hopefully Boobie threes getting rained on sum punks.
I can live with that pull up three, especially with Jamison there for the rebound. Alas, he bricked it, and the offensive rebound didn’t happen. Like someone said before: Lebron giveth, and Lebron taketh away.
I saw him nail one of his heat check threes after a whistle, so he probably thought in the flow of the game (well, HIS game, in the 4th) that he could nail it.
No biggie, still on top of the league, home court is secure. They’ll be fine, especially when Andy and Shaq are back.
Lee,
I thought J.J. made one of the more intelligent plays in the 4th quarter when he quickly fouled Perkins after a rebound near the end. That was huge stopping the clock quickly and making sure Allen/Pierce didn’t get sent to the line.
Im just a little disappointed that Jamison could not grab the rebound on the Lebron three. He was down there by himself.
So I didn’t watch the game, and i’m reading through these posts trying to figure out what kind of horiffic injury benched Mo after he shot 6-6. Really?
the pull up 3 was fine. lebron’s jumper was just sooooo off all game. he was falling backwards every time he shot the ball. he didn’t look at all like the same guy that he is when he jumps straight up and down and nails those dagger 3’s. if lebron hits it everyone annoints him the most clutch player in the league blah blah blah. if kobe takes that same shot its because hes an assassin. it’ll happen. by the way, as soon as z fouled out and hickson came in, i bet my friend 10 bucks that he would… Read more »
It’s been mentioned once, but considering Jamison was on top of that break, the pullup was a pretty good decision, IMO. Had Jamison been here a little longer, he would have been on the same page with LBJ and been ready for the long rebound. Cavs at full strength should have zero problems with BOS, but the FT problem keeps me up at night. Could you imagine our scoring diff if we could just be mediocre at the line? Garnett is funny. He reminds me of the crazy dude that always hangs around the gas station…glassy-eyed and cussing to no… Read more »
Celtics guy…go monitor your own boards before coming here. Celtics fans say the worst things about LeBron..so go figure out your own fans hatred before coming here. Anyway, we need Varejao. We need to stop believing we are still a great team w/o him. We aren’t. I like what Van Gundy said doing the Lakers game. In his opinoin (and mine) the Lakers aren’t talented enough to just beat everyone when Bynum is out. Same here folks. We are not talented enough to beat every single team w/o Varejao. I mean when Hickson and Z are in the game at… Read more »
I’ll say this about KG: He used to walk the walk, now all he can do is talk the talk, and with very little class, might I add. He reminds me of Floyd Mayweather, except he’s much less capapble (or in some cases, incapable) of backing up his smack-talk. Basically, he’s comprable to a washed up boxer who consistently writes checks his ass can’t cash. I’ll give it to him though; I think he got in LeBron’s head. They kept giving him junk about not being able to shoot, and he tried to prove them wrong by attempting to win… Read more »
a celtics fan here. why don’t you guys chill out a little? why this hatred for the celtics? why the disdain of garnett? so kevin garnett talks trash, so what? so does every other player in the league. so does your guy lebron. what the heck was he doing lingering in the celtics’ huddle during that late-game timeout? any other player–save possible kobe–who did that would have been teed up! if you’re gonna complain about kevin, why don’t you demand that lebron talks nicely or shuts up! besides which, any team that has anderson varejao on it has no right… Read more »
honestly i didn’t think it was a bad 3 point shot to win the game..it was a 2 on 2 break..both Celtic defenders came to challenge lebrons 3pt attempt leaving jamison under the boards awaiting for the rebound..unfortunately the ball didn’t bounce his way and if it did..rebound n tie game.,i think lebron knew this the whole time..in the end it doesn’t matter..great effort overall
I have to say, that this was one of the most entertaining basketball games I have watched in awhile. It really got me juiced up for the postseason and the possibility of playing the Celtics. A couple of things were learned today. One is that the Cavs will not lose a game to the Celtics in the playoffs if they meet, because this team didn’t care for three quarters and then came back from nowhere to scare the living hell out of a team that is older than dirt. Second is the bad blood between these two teams, we all… Read more »
The funny thing about this Celtics team is that they actually still believe they are playing for a championship. KG’s rabid dog mentality has infected those other studio gangsters on that team for sure. Every C’s win is followed by reassurance that they are still the best team in the league and every loss is followed by excuses and “we didn’t try hard enough but are still probably the best team in the league…” It reminds me of the ’03-’07 Pistons who oozed with arrogance and whose single lucky anomalous championship made people forget that most of those guys had… Read more »
A question to consider here: supposing we get a full healthy lineup at some point in the playoffs (knock on wood), would it make sense to play Jamison at the 3 and Lebron at the 2 at any point in time? The announcers in this one were musing about what would happen to JJ’s minutes once Andy and Shaq get healthy, and they seemed to think that Z would keep his minutes before JJ (which seems questionable to me). But with 2 real centers putting in 35 minutes between them, and two real power forwards who could easily put in… Read more »
LeBron doesn’t take that three in the playoffs. But the game was meaningless and they were in Boston, so why not. I’m ok with it.
Garnett- just shut up. How quickly has this guy gone from hardworking guy that puts it all out on the line to just insufferable heel?
Also, yes, KG is a punk. I didn’t hear him calling Aaron Brooks “Michael F’ing Jordan” when they blew a lead to a Houston team with nothing to play for. I want anyone other than the Celtics to win the title.
Im with you John, I dont blame Lebron for that pull up 3 at all. He was in full eff-you mode and had that gone in it would have taken the last wind out of the Boston sail. If he would have taken it to the rim he would have gotten fouled and would have had to hit both FTs, im taking the chance with the 3 ball (he was due, too bad it didnt drop).
Objective witness here. Since everyone will cover the LeBron angle over and over again, I have to ask… Why in the hell was Mo not in the game at all in the 4th? I mean, the dude was on fire (not to mention on my fantasy team during the semifinals in our league). When the game got closer, you’d think you would want one of your best playmakers and your best shooter in the game to finish it out. He and Z were the only ones doing anything in the first three quarters. I have to believe that even Mike… Read more »
I just hope Boston doesn’t lose first round and the Cavs talk shit to KG the whole time. Oh and guard Ray Allen
If KG were old enough to have tried to run his mouth like that at the Bad Boys, or really any tough team emulating them from the early-to-mid 90’s, he would’ve ended up either 5 rows in the stands after a hip check or in the hospital.
Gotta love Kevin Garnett. His team had lost three straight at home, had just blown a 22-point 2nd half lead to a team that was missing it’s best two front court defenders, and who had nothing to play for… he was shooting 1-7 from the field in a 4th quarter where his whole team was getting outscored by one player. So, naturally, when he hits a couple of game-sealing FT’s, he looks at LeBron and says “this is my f’ing house” or something along those lines. Flat out hilarious. I’m pretty sure Kevin Garnett would cuss his own mother in… Read more »
John, great write-up from the game. I’ve been reading your posts since the True-Hoop Network launched last year and enjoy it greatly. I’m a Clevelander born and raised, but now live in the Boston area and attended the game and had a couple thoughts. As you said, Mo had a great first half, then didn’t play the fourth. You said AP hit some shots, but besides the goal tend I can only remember his other three and a short pull-up. Because of everything else he does, I have no problem leaving Delonte on the floor, and in my mind it… Read more »
Hopefully something truthful is piercing its way through the yesmen atmosphere surrounding LBJ. Something like, “Hey — I am the most unstoppable force the NBA has ever seen at driving to the rim. I should do that more often.” Mike Brown should be going off at his star player, not the refs. That three was such a horrible snap decision that it makes me question the whole “basketball IQ” line of thinking. Hopefully there’s a lesson there for the King. Nice run in the fourth. Tough loss, though. Again — let it be a lesson. Scares me that we’re headed… Read more »
“Better to have it happen in this game than in the playoffs.” That was my thought. It’s always nice to beat Boston, but this was a meaningless game for us. LeBron can save his heroics for the playoffs. And hopefully he and the team can draw some useful lessons from this loss.
Also, I think the team has acquitted itself rather well sans Varejao.