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BOSTON – The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Reunion Tour stopped in Boston on Sunday night for a game against old friend Tristan Thompson and the Celtics.
Only this one did not give the same result as the two previous matches against a former Cavalier. Cleveland was blown away by Boston 141-103.
After back-to-back wins over the Brooklyn Nets under Kyrie Irving – and a three-game total streak – the Cavs arrived in Beantown with great confidence. They are healthy again after a two week slip caused by an injury rash. The extra corps led to a noticeable increase in the attacking side. That growth, combined with the same stifling defense, has led to some big thinking about what might go ahead.
But the Celtics, one of last year’s representatives in the Eastern Conference Finals, offered a humiliating test of reality.
“We played like we got somewhere, like we didn’t have anything to prove,” Cavs head coach JB Bickerstaff said after the loss. “It’s a very good team that we played tonight. A team with a ton of playoff experience and a bunch of winners. We had won three games in a row so we came out like we had accomplished something. These are the lessons and tests we are talking about.
“We were reading our press clippings and we felt good because we had had a few good games. But that doesn’t mean anything in this league. You can’t do it every night, the teams come for you. The Celtics gave us a great lesson and I hope we learn from it.
For the Cavs, playing hard is not optional. They don’t have the high-end talent to overcome a lack of courage and consistently win pretty games. It doesn’t matter what happened earlier this week against the Star Nets. It didn’t matter if Boston was in trouble, having lost three straight games, including a recent 30-point shot from the New York Knicks. Each night presents a different challenge. Enthusiasm can be ripped off in an instant. Difficult lessons are still waiting around the corner.
While it’s a rare event this season, the Cavs didn’t bring it on Sunday. Lethargic effort on defense. Not enough teamwork on the other end. Bickerstaff could smell it within minutes of the start of the match. The players began to discuss it on the sidelines and during small groups.
As the Cavs trailed 11-2 before 9 minutes into the first quarter, an edgy Bickerstaff traded all five starters, sending a message and looking for a spark.
It never came.
“They came out and kicked us in every aspect of the game,” Bickerstaff said. “They got to their places, they were more physical, they set up screens, we couldn’t get into the ball, we didn’t dictate anything at both ends of the pitch. It was obvious right away.
The league’s second defense gave up a record-breaking point total of the season, even as the Celtics played without Jayson Tatum, who missed his fourth consecutive unreported game with COVID, and used their bench-end subs for the majority of the fugue. fourth trimester.
Boston shot 55.9% from the field and 50% from the 3-point distance. The Cavs had no answer for Jaylen Brown, who had a game-high 33 points on 13 of 20 and 3 of 4 shots from beyond the arc. Kemba Walker, who returned from an off-season rehab kneeling 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 signed with the Celtics as an unrestricted free agent after nine years with the Cavs, scored five points and tallied 12 rebounds. He helped set the tone early on with his physicality around the rim, opening the scoring for Boston with an undisputed dunk.
Ahead of the tipoff, Thompson shared a warm hug with Bickerstaff before thanking other former teammates and coaches on the Cleveland bench.
After that, it was all business. At least for the Celtics.
Broken streak
Boston lockout goaltender Marcus Smart smothered Cavaliers’ leading scorer Collin Sexton, who was clearly a target of Boston’s defensive strategy. Sexton’s 20-or more-point streak ended in 14 games. He was held by 13 points on 3 of 8 shots.
next
The Cavs will return home to face the Los Angeles Lakers in the second straight game. The tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.
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