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 James and Irving combined to score all 24 fourth-quarter points and
the Cavaliers survived a scare from the Boston Celtics for a 99-91
victory Tuesday night, giving them a 2-0 lead in their opening-round
playoff series.
"It wasn't pretty," Irving said. "But we held it down on the
defensive end and got it done."
James scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, and Irving
added nine of his 26 in the fourth. James, a forward, also had nine
rebounds and seven assists, while Irving, a guard, had five rebounds
and six assists.
This might be Irving's first playoff series, but he's handling it
like a tested veteran.
"It's a treat to have a guy like that who can score with the best of
them," James said. "He's very poised for a young guy in this type of
environment. It's great to have him out there."
Center Timofey Mozgov scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds,
and forward Kevin Love had 13 points and six rebounds while battling
foul trouble.
Boston guard Isaiah Thomas, who finished second this week in Sixth
Man of the Year balloting, finished with 22 points, including
10-of-10 shooting at the free-throw line on a night the Celtics'
bench outscored the Cavs' reserves 51-7. Former Cavs center Tyler
Zeller had 11 points and six rebounds, while forward Jared Sullinger
scored 14 points and forward Jae Crowder scored 10, both off the
bench.
James was double-teamed whenever he went to the post, so he seemed
content to remain in the same facilitator role he held for most of
Game 1. But when the Celtics pulled within 84-82 on a free throw by
guard Evan Turner with 6:58 to play, James moved to the perimeter
and grew more aggressive.
He scored five of the Cavs' next seven points, allowing them to
escape with home-court advantage intact after entering this series
as heavy favorites.
James committed six more turnovers and now has 11 through two games,
but still carried his teammates through difficult moments in the
fourth quarter.
"I've been in this moment before and a lot of our guys haven't," he
said. "I felt like it was important for me to put a staple on the
game the best way I know how and that's to be aggressive. It's very
important for me to be there for my team when needed."
The Celtics weren't given much of a chance in this series, yet they
held the lead in the final minute of the first half and were within
two possessions with 3:30 to play.
"We made those guys earn everything they got," Celtics coach Brad
Stevens said. "I think that is a step in the right direction."
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The Celtics were within 95-89 late in the game when James blocked
Zeller's dunk attempt, then converted with a driving basket around
Zeller at the other end to put the game out of reach.
Game 3 is Thursday night in Boston.
"It's a must-win for us," Thomas said.
James' half-court lob to Love, who caught it and dunked it behind
his back in one motion, pushed the Cavs' lead to 62-54 with 8:06
left in the third quarter. Stevens immediately called a timeout.
That was the type of play Stevens has tried to avoid the whole
series, and it energized a dreary home crowd that was slow to get
into the game throughout a sluggish first half.
"I could really dunk in high school, so there's a lot of dunks I had
in high school that I look back on and say, 'Damn I could really get
up,'" Love joked. "It kind of felt like Billy Hoyle at the end of
'White Men Can't Jump' when he caught the lob from Wesley Snipes"
"We have to improve some things without question," Blatt said. "It
is very clear that nothing is coming easy and we have to meet that
challenge."
NOTES: F LeBron James shut off all communication to the outside
world during the postseason. "I don't care about nonsense," he said.
"There's too much nonsense out there." ... James passed Jerry West
to move into seventh place on the all-time postseason scoring list.
He now has 4,469 points. ... F Kevin Love felt more comfortable
entering Game 2 after he shot 2 of 11 in the first half of Game 1.
"I was kind of running like a chicken with my head cut off out there
for the first five or 10 minutes," he joked. "And we have the stats
to show that." ... Celtics coach Brad Stevens canceled his team's
morning shootaround Tuesday. "I'm big on fresh legs, clear mind,"
Stevens said. "I'm a big believer in staying off your feet as much
as you can in these moments." ... Stevens finished fourth in Coach
of the Year voting released Tuesday, one spot ahead of Spurs coach
Gregg Popovich. "That's just bad voting," Stevens joked.
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