BOSTON – The reunion tour of the Cleveland Cavaliers stopped Sunday night in Boston for a game against old friend Tristan Thompson and the Celtics.
Only this one has not yielded the same result as the previous two games against a former Cavalier. Cleveland was blown out by Boston 141-103.
With a consecutive win over Brooklyn Nets of Kyrie Irving – and in an overall three-game series – the Cavs arrived in Beantown with an abundance of confidence. They recover after a two-week slide caused by a rash of injuries. The extra bodies led to a noticeable increase on the offensive side. This growth, coupled with the same throttle defense, has led to big thoughts about what can move forward.
But the Celtics, one of last year’s representatives in the Eastern Conference final, offered a humble reality check.
“We played as if we had arrived somewhere, as if we had nothing to prove,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said after the loss. ‘It’s a very good team we played tonight. A team with a lot of playing experience and a lot of winners. We won three games in a row, so we came out as if we had accomplished something. These are the lessons and the tests we are talking about.
‘We read our press clippings and smelled them ourselves because we had some good games. But that means nothing in this league. You can not do it every night, teams come to you. The Celtics gave us a good lesson and I hope we learn from it. ‘
For the Cavs, playing hard is not optional. They do not have the best talent to overcome a lack of gravel and win nice matches throughout. It does not matter what happened to the star-studded Nets earlier this week. It does not matter if Boston struggled, after losing three consecutive games, including a recent 30-point hit by the New York Knicks. Each night presents a different challenge. Enthusiasm can be snatched away in an instant. Hard lessons are always waiting around the corner.
Although it was a rare appearance this season, the Cavs did not bring it Sunday. Lethargic attempt at defense. Not enough teamwork on the other hand. Bickerstaff could feel it after a few minutes in the game. Players started discussing it along the sidelines and during huddles.
With the Cavs 11-2 ahead of the first quarter of 9 minutes, a fraudulent Bickerstaff swapped all five entrees, sent a message and looked for a spark.
It never came.
“They came out and kicked us in every aspect of the game,” Bickerstaff said. ‘They reached their places, they were more physical, they set up screens, we could not end up in the ball, and we dictated nothing on either side of the floor. It was immediately clear. ”
The second division’s defense of the league yielded a total of season highs, although the Celtics played without Jayson Tatum, who missed his fourth consecutive game with COVID, and used their end of the bench for a majority of the away runs. . fourth term.
Boston shot 55.9% from the field and 50% from the three-point range. The Cavs had no answers for Jaylen Brown, who threw a game-high 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 3-of-4 from outside the arc. Kemba Walker, who returned to his knee from the season a week ago, added 21 points to go with five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes.
In his first game against Cleveland, Thompson, who after nine years with the Cavs scored nine years with the Celtics as an unlimited free agent, scored five points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He helped set the tone early on with his physicality around the edge, opening the score for Boston with an undisputed victim.
Before the turnaround, Thompson shared a warm embrace with Bickerstaff before acknowledging other former teammates and coaches on Cleveland’s bench.
After that, it was all business. At least for the Celtics.
Streak cracked
Boston’s closing guard, Marcus Smart, strangled Cavaliers’ leading scorer, Collin Sexton, who was clearly a target of Boston’s defensive strategy. Sexton’s streak of scoring 20 points or more ends in 14 games. He was held on 3-of-8 shots to 13 points.
Following
The Cavs will return home to play the Los Angeles Lakers in the second game of a rugby player. Tipoff is set for 20:00
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