Keys to the Game: Celtics 96, Cavaliers 82 (Preseason)

Key Moment

Boston went into halftime with a comfortable eight-point advantage, but they weren't anywhere close to done. Eddie House opened up the second half's scoring when he drilled a 3-pointer at the 10:38 mark and it was all Celtics from there. His 3-pointer jumpstarted a 14-2 run by the C's to start the second half, all coming in a span of 2:59. That gave the Celtics a 20-point advantage and put the game away early.

Stat Line of the Game

Marquis Daniels showed tonight why the Celtics coveted his services this summer. He scored with efficiency and recorded five assists and no turnovers against one of the top defenses in the NBA.

Full Box Score

Box Score Nuggets

• The Celtics assisted on 26 of their 36 made field goals.
• Boston shot 9-of-19 from 3-point range, good for 47.4 percent.
• As a team, the C's had better than a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio tonight, with 26 assists and only eight turnovers.
• Eddie House scored 21 points off the bench, including 8-of-14 shooting, in only 22:13 of play.
• Boston had only 30 rebounds in the game.
• In the final game of the preseason, Cleveland surprisingly played their starting five for the majority of the first three quarters.
• The Celtics shot exactly 50.0 percent on the night.
• Only one Cavalier had a positive +/- for the game, J.J. Hickson with a +4.
• Marquis Daniels scored 17 points for the second consecutive night.
• Paul Pierce talked Doc Rivers into letting him play tonight and capitalzed on his limited time, scoring 11 points in 13:18 of playing time.

Quote of the Night

Cavs head coach Mike Brown on the Celtics' physical play: "We have to give them some credit; they played a very physical basketball game. We felt them the entire night. Whether we tried to make a cut or when we tried to screen somebody, they were into us, and we felt their presence on the offensive end of the floor and that led to us turning the ball over."

- Compiled by Marc D'Amico