Cleveland Rocks Boston 104-93

By John in Celtics, Featured, Top Story ⋅ March 15, 2010 at 3:32am ⋅ Post a comment

Lebron James accepted the February MVP award before the game. (David Liam Kyle / Getty Images)

In a bout of deja vu, the Celtics kept it pretty close for the first three quarters, then fell apart at the seams, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, 104-93. The 1st quarter was a matter of streaks; the Cavs went on a 7-0 run to lead 9-4, then the Celtics led 12-9, and the Cavs finished the quarter with a 8-0 run to lead 24-18. In the process, J.J. Hickson and Kevin Garnett were whistled for a double-technical following some jawing.

It was a back and forth contest for the next 24 minutes, as the Cavs kept their six-point lead at the half, though they should have been up by only five as Maurice Williams was credited with a three despite his foot being on the line, even with an official review. The third quarter saw the Celtics surge back to tie the game, only to fall behind 80-72 heading into the final quarter.

Then, the Celtics unraveled. That eight-point deficit? It was the lowest of the quarter for the Celtics. In fact, the Cavaliers boosted their lead to 17 and the Celtics cut it back to 10 before the Cavs settled it down to the final 11.

C’s Stud of the Game: Ray Allen

The more prominent of the two Allens led the team in points and had half its threes, in addition to being decent at free throw shooting, rebounds, and assists.

C’s Dud of the Game: Kendrick Perkins

In 30:10 on the court, Perkins couldn’t even manage one part of a double-double. The most he could get at any stat was six, for points and rebounds.

That’s What he Said:

“You’ve gotta be prepared for that next game…” – Tommy Heinsohn, on Boston’s upcoming game with the Pistons, though doing the same for the 4th quarter couldn’t have hurt either.

Game Notes:

Scoring Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 30), Ray Allen (BOS 20), Kevin Garnett (BOS 18), Paul Pierce (BOS 18)
Field Goal Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 9/21), Ray Allen (BOS 7/14), four others with six
Three Point Leaders: Maurice Williams (CLE 4/7), Ray Allen (BOS 3/5), Paul Pierce (BOS 3/5)
Free Throw Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 11/16), Kevin Garnett (BOS 8/8), Leon Powe (CLE 6/6)
Rebound Leaders: Antawn Jamison (CLE 12), Anderson Varejao (CLE 10), Lebron James (CLE 8), Rajon Rondo (BOS 8),
Assist Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 7), Maurice Williams (CLE 6), Rajon Rondo (BOS 6)
Steal Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 2), Rajon Rondo (BOS 2), five others with one
Block Leaders: Lebron James (CLE 3), Antawn Jamison (CLE 2), four others with one
Turnovers: BOS 11, CLE 8
Foul-outs: none
Technical Fouls: J.J Hickson (CLE) and Kevin Garnett (BOS), 8:18 left in 1st

Tags: Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Tommy Heinsohn

Discussion

One comment for “Cleveland Rocks Boston 104-93”

Every time I see Cleveland, I’m less impressed. I don’t see them winning a championsip. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that they – along with all the other decent teams – are easily better than the current crop of Celtics. Sad to watch the boys in green these days, as they collapse in 3 out of every 4 games. Unless they play Toronto in the first round of the playoffs, say goodbye to the season right then and there. And right now, I’m not even sure they can beat Toronto.

Posted by Ken | March 15, 2010, 6:26 am