The Boston Celtics jumped on the Cleveland Cavaliers early, scoring 17 straight points in the game’s opening stanza in the course of building a 21-point first quarter lead. Boston would end the first quarter with a 18-point lead, 36-18. Boston continued to pour it on in the second quarter, outscoring Cleveland 25-17 to take a 61-35 into halftime.
Late in the third quarter, the Cavaliers scored seven straight to bring them within 14 at 78-64. However Boston responded by getting the first three buckets of the fourth quarter and soon after scored nine consecutive to raise their lead to 28 at 96-68 with 7:09 left in the game. It was at that point Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue pulled Lebron James and the Cavaliers waved the proverbial white flag.
Jaylen Brown had 23 points; Al Horford provided more solid play with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists while making 8 of his 10 shots. Marcus Morris, who had been the target of relentless ridicule from social media after his comments on his own ability to guard Lebron James, contributed 21 points and 10 rebounds. He also played solid defense on James when matched up on him.
Kevin Love led Cleveland with 17 points on 5-of-14 from the floor; Lebron James only had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists, but missed 11 of his 16 shots. The Cavaliers were ice cold from the floor shooting a mere 36%, which included an abysmal 4-26 from three point range.
The series resumes with Game 2 Tuesday night in Boston at 8:30 P.M. EST.
