Recap: Celtics 99, Cavaliers 90

Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert sat this one out.  The Cavs came out lifeless on offense and allowed the Celtics to break loose a bit at the end of the half.  They put together one excellent quarter, the 3rd, as LeBron pushed the tempo and Lazarus Mike Milller canned three 3s, bringing the Cavs all the way back to momentarily take the lead.  Blatt preferred Kevin Love and LeBron James call it a day after 3, and the Cavs 8 through 12 guys faltered down the stretch, ending an impressive home win streak and increasing the probability that the Celtics earn some playoff experience this season.

1st Quarter:

It took the Cavs more than six minutes to get their sixth point.  Marcus Smart began the game 4-4 from the field: 3 triples and a line-toed long two.  Shawn Marion checked in for LeBron midway through the quarter.  The Cavs collapsed a bit too eagerly on dribble penetration and sagged off Avery Bradley – the Celtics obliged with a barrage of jumpers.   The Cavs trailed 28-17 after one.

2nd Quarter:

Kendrick Perkins and James Jones got a lot of burn in the 2nd quarter.  JFJ has been flashing that Chauncey Billups pump-fake leaner into 3 freebies an awful lot this season.  The Cavs traded buckets for most of the quarter and even got Perk in on the scoring, force feeding him on the low block.  The Cavs got sloppy in the final two minutes, allowing the Celtics to get some transition opportunities.  Delly threw in a prayer off the glass as time expired: 54-40 Celtics at the half.

3rd Quarter:

LeBron pushed the tempo this quarter, and the 3s finally started falling.  The Cavs scored eight points in less than a minute, capped by a Mike Miller 3 that brought the Cavs to within three and forced the Celtics to take a timeout.

Good pass from LeBron to Love, great pass from Love to Miller who cans the 3. Cavs down 66-63 after trailing by 16, 4:08 left in 3rd Q

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 11, 2015

Mike Miller wasn’t done, his second 3 tied the game at 66, his free throws (yes, free throws) gave the Cavs their only lead of the night, and he even buried another 3 to tie the game at 77.

Death. Taxes. Mike Miller rising from the grave when the playoffs start.

— FearTheSword (@FearTheSword) April 11, 2015

The Cavs dropped 37 in the quarter, after managing just 40 in the entire first half.  They trailed 79-77 going into the final frame.

4th Quarter:

I’ve never had to complain about Joe Harris being shy.

The Cavs elected to sit Love and LeBron.  J.R. Smith never returned after being replaced by MM midway through the 3rd.  The Cavs ragtag group managed just 13 points the entire quarter.

The Good:

-If Mike Miller can actually give the Cavs a situational boost off the bench that would be great.

-Kevin Love had a decent game.  We’ll see what extensive rest can do for him.

-TT had 12 rebounds (including four offensive) in 16 minutes.  He was +6

-The Cavs scored 37 points in the 3rd quarter when they seemed interested in playing aggressive offense.

The Bad:

-The Cavs hoisted 34 threes and made just 9 of them.  Seven of those 9 (Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One) belonged to Love and Miller.  LeBron, J.R. Smith, and James Jones combined to go 0-15.  Yikes.

-Delly’s new haircut.

Tintin haircut for Delly… Not ideal

— Alexandre RAFFALLI (@AlexRaffalli) April 11, 2015

Final Thoughts:

The Cavs weren’t interested in winning the game, and the Celtics were.  Not much to take away from this game, other than the fact that the Cavs bench will be very short in the playoffs.  The Cavs have been lazy on offense ever since their dismantling of Memphis.  They’re taking a lot of “why not?” 3s and are turning the ball over too much.  Hopefully it’s just a lack of focus with their seeding basically determined throughout the last 6 games.

Other Thoughts:

Lauren Hill, the 19-year-old basketball player from Mount St. Joseph’s (near Cincinnati) died on Friday.  She did not go gently into that good night.  She inspired so many of us who followed her story and is responsible for millions of dollars in cancer research.  We often marvel at athletes that elevate themselves to fight through sickness or injury on the court.  Lauren fought against the bright lights and loud noises of the basketball arena.  She fought against terminal illness and suffering.  She fought against loneliness and despair.  When the final buzzer sounded, she was victorious.  Rest in peace, Lauren.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYCNEWun_bE