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Third Quarter Again Deadly for C's in Cleveland

addByline("Peter Stringer", "Celtics.com", "PeterStringer");

CLEVELAND – The third quarter hasn’t been kind to the Celtics in Cleveland.

On Tuesday night, a 17-4 run to start the third dug the Celtics a 14-point hole, and similar to Sunday’s Game 1 loss, the Celtics never climbed out of it.

As the Celtics tried to retake the lead the during the fourth, the Cavaliers leaned on their stars and held off the Celtics for a 99-91 win in Game 2 that has the Celtics staring at an 0-2 series deficit as they return to Boston.

“The third quarter has killed us both games. That’s why we’ve been fighting from behind in both games,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

Specifically, foul trouble hurt the Celtics immediately after opening the third, as they picked up four fouls in the first few minutes of the second half. That put the Cavs on the line for every ensuing whistle in the period.

Game 2 wasn’t too much different than Game 1, except that this time, the Celtics kept the game tight for the entire first half.

Cleveland’s strong start to the third quarter was highlighted by a spectacular half-court alley-oop from LeBron James to Kevin Love, who caught the ball with his back to the basket and flushed the dunk behind his head.

Two buckets later, James was swinging from the rim and kicking his feet at Marcus Smart’s head after another alley-oop, this time from Irving, and Cleveland had opened up a 14-point lead, its largest of the night. With the score at 68-54 Cavs, the Celtics had to once again start the uphill battle, which is tough enough against any NBA team. But against James, Irving and the Cavs, it has twice proven insurmountable.

When the fourth quarter rolled around, the Celtics had closed to within seven points. In response, the Cavaliers went exclusively to their best players – James and Irving – and no one else scored for them during the final stanza. James had 15 of the Cavs’ 24 fourth quarter points, and Irving had the other nine.

“They’re good players. They’re great players. We challenged Kyrie a little bit better. He’s a really explosive ball-handler and scorer,” Stevens said. “And when LeBron just puts his shoulder down and wants to get where he wants to go, it’s hard to stop him from getting there.”

For the Celtics to get where they want to go, which is back to Cleveland for a Game 5, they’re going to have to win at least one of their next two games in Boston –preferably both to have a fighting chance in the series. Over the first two games, what’s become clear is that they’re relying on Isaiah Thomas to provide the offensive punch. Too often, the Celtics’ offense is sluggish when Thomas isn’t on the floor. Thomas finished with another 22 points, 10 of which came from the free-throw line.

Jared Sullinger also made a solid offensive contribution, adding 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench, and Tyler Zeller had his moments. But the Celtics only shot 39 percent from the field and can’t expect to compete with Cleveland’s firepower when they aren’t converting in the paint. The longer the game went on, the more the Celtics seemed to settle for outside shots.

The Celtics’ other pesky problem from Game 1 reappeared in the fourth quarter, as they gave up multiple offensive rebounds in the final minutes that sealed their fate.

“We’ve just got to keep attacking the glass like we were in the first half,” Sullinger said.

The Celtics played the Cavaliers closer in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, but they’re taking no solace in a minor improvement that didn’t bear fruit in the win column as they head home trailing 0-2.

“We don’t like to do moral victories around here,” Sullinger said. “We want to win.”

Thomas called Game 3 a “must-win” on the postgame podium, and there’s not much more to say. The Celtics on Thursday night return to TD Garden for their first postseason game in two years, and Game 4 follows on Sunday.

The Celtics need to win both games in Boston to make this a series.