Wrap-Up - On Friday night, the shorthanded Cavaliers had their 18-game home win streak snapped by a playoff-hungry Celtics squad that’s won their last six on the road – falling, 99-90, in their first loss in Cleveland since January 7 – the game following the deal that brought J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to Cleveland. It was the first home loss for Smith, Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov in a Cavaliers uniform.
The Cavaliers had nothing to lose or gain on Friday night after locking up the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture on Wednesday in Milwaukee. Cleveland was without the services of Kyrie Irving – a late scratch with a sore right hip – and Iman Shumpert – who suffered a right quad contusion against the Bucks.
Cleveland toyed with several unique lineups throughout the night – shaking the rust off some Cavaliers that might prove essential when the league’s second season tips off next weekend. Mike Miller logged 23 minutes and Shawn Marion, 21. Even rookie Joe Harris, who spent Wednesday night leading the Canton Charge to a Game 1 playoff victory, got a nice 13-minute run on Friday night.
Kevin Love led the Wine and Gold with 19 points, going an even 6-for-12 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to go with six boards and four assists.
LeBron James followed up with 14 points despite joining four starters on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. James added seven assists, three boards and a steal. Timofey Mozgov rounded out the starters in double-figures with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting.
The only starter who did play into the fourth quarter was Matthew Dellavedova, who finished with nine points and a team-high eight assists.
Both Mike Miller and Tristan Thompson were solid off the bench on Friday night. Miller canned three three-pointers in the third quarter and finished with 11 points and Tristan continued to make his case for Sixth Man of the Year – snagging 12 boards in just 16 minutes of work.
The Celtics shot 45 percent from the floor to Cleveland’s 41. Boston held the Cavaliers to a single fastbreak point and forced them into 22 turnovers. Rookie Marcus Smart led the Celtics with 19 points and former Buckeye, Evan Turner, led everyone with 13 of Boston’s 30 assists.
KLove tallies team-high 19 points.
View some of the best snapshots.
KLove finishes the tough and-one.
Go inside the locker room.
Watch final game highlights from Friday's game.
Turning Point – The Celtics were in charge through most of the first half – leading by as many as 16 in the second quarter.
But midway through the third, Mike Miller replaced a struggling J.R. Smith and ignited Cleveland’s comeback from long-distance. His first trey of the quarter got the Cavaliers to within three and his next bomb one minute later tied the game at 68-apiece – capping a 15-2 run. Miller’s third three with 40 seconds to go in the quarter knotted the affair at 77-each, but Jae Crowder’s field goals to end the quarter put the Celtics back on top by a deuce.
Early in the fourth, Joe Harris’ three-pointer got the Cavs back to within a point, but Boston went on a 9-2 run of their own to put the game on ice.
By the Numbers – 501 … total rebounds that Tristan Thompson has grabbed off the bench this year, most among all NBA reserves.
Quotable – Coach David Blatt, on resting guys over the final few games of the regular season …
”Honestly, we’re worried about ourselves right now and about trying to deal and balance to diametrically opposed things. One is to keep guys in shape and the other one is to rest them. The result of the games are a little less important because we’ve finished in second place in the Eastern Conference and we’ve won the division, and that’s not going to change one way or another. Those are the only two things to consider.”
Up Next – Following Friday’s loss at The Q, the Cavaliers travel to Boston for a Sunday afternoon affair as the 2014-15 regular season enters its final week. On Monday night, the Wine and Gold return home where they’ll wrap up their season series with the Pistons. On Wednesday night, Cleveland closes out the campaign against John Wall and the Wizards on Fan Appreciation Night. And next weekend, after a four-year absence, NBA Playoff basketball returns to Quicken Loans Arena.