CLEVELAND, Ohio – Take a good look at the future of the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was fully exhibited Wednesday night against the Boston Celtics and picked up a rising playoff team with a pair of All-Stars.
The Cavs unleashed their four-game losing streak and beat the Celtics, 117-110, in their first game after a terrible, non-competitive 0-3 ride.
Boston came into the night after winning five of seven games. His two All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shone in the second half and combined for 45 of their 57 points. But the Cavs withstood the onslaught and fought back and this time did not succumb to adversity.
Collin Sexton. Darius Garland. Isaac Okoro. Larry Nance Jr. Jarrett Allen. This is the 20th starting lineup to be used this season and the core of the team is moving forward. The quintet put together 94 of the team’s points on Wednesday night.
Sexton, the success barometer, took the lead with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting, 2-out-5 from 3-point distance and 7-out-7 from the foul line, his best performance since the All-Star break his – and the team’s momentum stalled. Garland tied his career high and scored 25 points with six assists and four rebounds. The regularly criticized backstory almost matched the total production of Tatum and Brown.
“They were ready,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said of Sexton and Garland. ‘They never got rushed, they never got frustrated; they kept their composure, they thought the game tonight. They read what the defense is doing, and then they play the real plays from there. ”
Nance started again in place of the injured Kevin Love. Nance scored a double-double and tied his season with 18 points with 10 rebounds. Newcomer Isaac Okoro also scored double figures and threw in 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, which put an exclamation mark on his big night with a thunderous breakaway over Tatum late. Allen beat in seven minutes with seven points and seven rebounds.
With about two minutes left, when the Celtics put pressure on the Cavs, Garland collected a defensive rebound and threw a pass forward to a streak of Okoro. The rookie floats to the basket, throws it down and bends. It was one of the highlights of his first, bad season. This gave the Cavs the necessary cushion and pushed the lead back to nine points.
“It was the breaker right there,” Garland said. ‘Got the crowd on their feet. Have us on our feet. We knew it was game after that. I just had to stop a few more times and it was done. ‘
This is the kind of game fans need to get used to, as Okoro continues to make positive progress with the attack and Garland has risen in his second season.
Wednesday feels like a sign of things to come.
“What matters to us is faith and trust,” Bickerstaff said. ‘While we’re talking about growth and all that stuff, it’s all fun, but the results at the end of the day are going to give guys confidence and faith. So this is the most important thing we need to give guys the faith that they can. ”
Matthew Dellavedova approaches
Dellavedova was back on the bench Wednesday night, supporting his teammates. And he moved better after an appendectomy. Dellavedova, who has yet to play this season and first suffered a severe concussion, cleared the league’s concussion protocol. He’s making progress and Bickerstaff expects him to “sooner rather than later.” A source told cleveland.com that Dellavedova plans to practice on Saturday.
Delayed return
Tristan Thompson was set to make his first appearance in Cleveland since signing with the Celtics this season as an unrestricted free agent. But he was excluded from the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night due to the league’s health and safety protocols and was inactive again on Wednesday. The Celtics will visit Cleveland again on May 12.
Following
The Cavs will continue their home field Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
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New Cavs face masks for sale: Here you can buy Cleveland Cavaliers-themed face masks for coronavirus protection, including a single mask ($ 14.99) and a 3-pack ($ 24.99). All NBA proceeds are donated to charity.
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