For the first time since last year's first-round playoff matchup, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers met Tuesday night at TD Garden to add another chapter to their budding rivalry. Unfortunately the Cs weren't able to exact revenge for the sweep the Cavs handed them in the aforementioned series, losing 89-77.
As you might expect, the game was extremely physical from the outset but, for the most part, the officials did a good job of letting both teams play their respective game's—save for a few calls that someone on the Cavs gets by default.
Boston seemed to have a nice thing going at the start of the first quarter, exploiting Kevin Love's poor post defense by dumping the ball down low to Jared Sullinger for a couple of easy buckets. As time wore on, though, the pace naturally quickened, resulting in a lot more looks from beyond the arc and points in transition.
It wasn't until the third quarter that Cleveland started to distance itself from the Celtics. The Cavs ripped off a 12-0 run at one point and ultimately outscored the green 29-15 in the period.
The Celtics were able to get as close as six down in the fourth but a 7-0 Cleveland run immediately followed and the Cavs never looked back.
Quick Note
James Young seems to be getting better and better with each game he receives a substantial amount of playing time. In 15 minutes tonight, he grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists highlighted by a sequence in which he ripped a rebound away from Tristan Thompson and found David Lee leaking out up court for an easy two.