|
 On Jan. 12, the club dealt leading scorer Jeff Green.
On Feb. 11, forward Jared Sullinger was supposed to be lost for the
season with a broken left foot.
With the postseason looming later this week, the Celtics moved
closer to grabbing a playoff spot, trouncing the undermanned
Cleveland Cavaliers 117-78 on Sunday.
Sullinger even came back early to help the late run.
The win, Boston's fourth in a row and 18th in the last 27 games,
left the Celtics in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and
reduced their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one with
two games remaining. The Celtics could have clinched Sunday night,
but the Indiana Pacers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to remain
a half-game behind for seventh.
The Celtics host the Toronto Raptors, already locked into the third
seed in the Eastern Conference, Tuesday and visit Milwaukee, the
sixth seed, Wednesday.
The Celtics lead the eighth-place Brooklyn Nets by a game and also
own the tie-breaker.
"All year we've been talking about focus on what's next. And what's
next is Toronto," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "And yes, we are
one game away, but winning a game in the NBA is awfully difficult."
Asked what happens if the team were to clinch Sunday night, the
coach said, "Toronto walk-through at 11 a.m. on Tuesday ... nothing
changes at all."
The Cavaliers, who will be the No. 2 seed in the East and would play
Boston if the Celtics are seventh, played without LeBron James,
Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith. James and Smith were on the
bench while the other two were getting treatment.
Cleveland took a one-point lead after the first, but the Celtics
(38-42) ran to a 34-9 second quarter lead and that was that. The
result was Boston's biggest-ever blowout of the Cavaliers.
Guard Isaiah Thomas came off the bench and led seven Celtics in
double figures with 17 points, adding six assists. Guard Evan Turner
had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists and forward Kelly
Olynyk had 10 points and seven rebounds and Sullinger had 11 points
and four assist off the bench.
"It's everything," Thomas said of making the playoffs. "In my NBA
career, I haven't been to the playoffs, so it's something that I
want to experience. I heard it's fun, it's exciting and it's a new
season.
"Once you make the playoffs, everybody's 0-0 and it's a new season
so I'm excited about it. Hopefully we do get it."
[to top of second column] |
Cavaliers turned the ball over 25 times in the game while the
Celtics had an NBA season-high 20 steals, one shy of the club
record. They reached double figures in steals in four straight games
for the first time since 2005. Cleveland had one steal and the
Celtics committed just nine turnovers.
The Celtics built their lead to 32 points in the final minute of the
third quarter, making the sellout crowd happy.
"It's almost not a fair situation to put them in because most of
these guys are used to playing with the other guys and feeding off
of them and then suddenly they're in primary roles," said Cavs coach
Dave Blatt.
Guard Iman Shumpert led the Cavaliers with 15 points, 10 rebounds
and three assists. Center Timofey Mozgov, the only starter playing
in the game, had nine points and eight rebounds.
By losing, the Cavaliers put themselves in position to play the
Celtics in the upcoming playoffs, which may well be preferential to
meeting the Nets or Pacers.
Asked if an Indiana could be upset at the players sitting out, Blatt
said, "Indiana wasn't upset when they played us and we had to sit a
player or two. That happened in the middle of the season -- we
played Indiana in Indiana and we sat LeBron because it was a tough
back to back after plane failure and we flew in the day of the game.
That didn't bother them then. I don't see what would bother them
now.
"That's the nature of the league."
NOTES: New Hall of Famer and former Celtics G Jo Jo White was
introduced to the crowd after the first quarter. ... The four
players sitting it out for Cleveland average a combined 75.8 points,
22.3 rebounds and 17.7 assists per game. ... The Cavaliers end their
regular season at home against Detroit and Washington Monday and
Wednesday, respectively, while the Celtics are home for the Toronto
Raptors on Tuesday and at Milwaukee on Wednesday. ... Former Celtic
C Kendrick Perkins received a nice ovation when he entered the game
in the first quarter. He failed to score in 18:50.
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