FINAL - BOS 103, CLE 86 ... The Celtics jumped on the Cavaliers early and didn't let up, coasting to the 17-point win on Friday night in Beantown. Dion Waiters scored 13 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and Anderson Varejao doubled-up with 10 points and 12 boards. Kyrie Irving was the only Cavalier starter in double-figures, netting 17 points in the loss.
5:52 4Q - BOS 86, CLE 69 ... Cavs will need some stops quickly to get back in this one; Varejao, double-double, 10 pts, 12 reb; Kyrie still leads CLE w/17 pts; Waiters, 16 pts; Avery Bradley, 21 pts, 9-11 FG.
End 3Q - BOS 79, CLE 58 ... Brandon Bass hits a set-shot three-pointer off the glass in a symbolic play for tonight; Cavs just haven't been able to get anything going offensively; Kyrie, 17 pts, 7-15 FG; Waiters, 10 pts, 3-12 FG; Varejao, 8 pts, 12 reb to lead everyone; Jeff Green, 27 pts;
Watch Highlight: Kyrie Irving Spins and Hits ...
8:29, 3Q - BOS 67, CLE 45 ... The hole got a little deeper coming out of the halftime locker room; BOS shooting 65 pct, Jeff Green, 24 pts, Avery Bradley, 19; Kyrie leads CLE w/17 pts.
End 1H - BOS 55, CLE 39 ... After a terrible start, Cavs get back in it behind Kyrie's offense and Anderson and Waiters' effort off the bench; Kyrie, 15 pts, 6-12 FG; Waiters, 8 pts (but 5 TO); Varejao, 10 reb (5 off, 5 def); Cavs shooting 33 pct; BOS, 61 pct; Tristan (2 pts) only other starter to score.
2:53, 2Q - BOS 47, CLE 35 ... Cavs back in it -- Kyrie's quick burst + Waiters, Varejao energy off the bench behind it; Dion w/8 pts off bench; Varejao, 9 reb; Kyrie, 13 pts, 5-9 FG.
5:52, 2Q - BOS 43, CLE 27 ... Kyrie got hot in the second, now w/12 pts as CLE makes a dent in what was a 20-pt BOS lead; Varjao already w/9 reb - 5 off offensive glass; Irving only starter to score; Waiters w/5 pts off bench.
End 1Q - BOS 28, CLE 10 ... Obviously a rough start to this one for the Cavs -- shooting 21 pct, Kyrie w/4 pts; Andy w/6 boards off the bench; Celtics shooting 61 pct, Avery Bradley, 8 pts, 3-4 FG; Cavs with 6 turnovers (Waiters, 3) in 1Q.
5:50, 1Q - BOS 18, CLE 2 ... Cavs digging themselves a big hole here in Boston, down 18-2. BOS shooting 80 pct; CLE shooting 10 pct. Tough start on the road. Especially in Boston, even if they've dropped four straight.
Pregame - Cavs looking to turn things around after dropping four straight. Anything after their last two games is a break -- having played the Western Conference and World Champs in order.
Sergey Karasev makes his first career start at the 2. What a city/opponent to do it against. Mike Brown really likes the kid and he doesn't look out of his element after a couple early slip-ups. He's fun to watch. And it'll be interesting to see Waiters off the bench again. Dion's been in double figures in eight of his last nine games, averaging 15.8 points,
3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 30.2 minutes per contest. (Shooting .429 (15-of-35) from beyon the arc over that span.
The last time these teams met in Boston, the Cavs won and Tristan Thompson went nuts with a career-high 29 points on 10-17 (.588) shooting, a career-high 17 rebounds and a perfect 9-9 mark from the foul line (making him the only player in Cavs history to score 29 points, grab 17 rebounds and make at least nine free throws without a miss in a single game.)
Two completely different teams since that day (April 5, 2013).
Tonight's starters: G Irving, G Karasev, F Gee, F Thompson, C Bynum