Wrap-Up -- it’s a good thing the Cavaliers have another game scheduled for Saturday night at The Q. Because the final four minutes of Friday’s 104-103 loss is not something they want to be dwelling on for days.
In a thriller that pitted last year’s First Round playoff combatants, both teams went through just about every emotion possible in the final third of the final period.
After overcoming a 15-point first quarter lead – and trailing by 10 to start the fourth – the Celtics proceeded to tie the score early in the period and pushed their lead to seven, 90-83, with just over four minutes to play in regulation. But back-to-back three-pointers by Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith and a pair of free throws from LeBron James gave Cleveland the lead back with 2:17 to play.
Boston bounced back to tie the score again at 94-apiece on Isaiah Thomas’ two free throws with 1:41 remaining.
LeBron converted an and-1, Tristan Thompson scored on put-back and Kyrie Irving would eventually hit two tosses from the stripe to put the Cavaliers back up five – 101-96 – with 18.6 to go.
After a Jae Crowder trey, Irving hit another pair of free throws to put the Cavaliers back on top four, 103-99, with just 7.5 to play. Evan Turner was fouled on a layup to get Boston to within two. He missed the free throw, but the ball went off Timofey Mozgov and the Celtics had one more possession.
On that possession, Thomas found Avery Bradley in the corner in front of Boston’s bench, and the sixth-year guard from Texas leaned back from beyond the arc and canned the game-winner at the buzzer – sending the Wine and Gold to their second straight defeat.
Avery’s triple were his only points of the second half. It was Thomas and Turner who did the Cavaliers in on Friday night – combining for 21 of Boston’s 39-fourth quarter points. Turner came off Brad Stevens’ bench to tally nine of his 19 points and six of his game-high 12 boards in the final period.
LeBron James did most of his heavy lifting in the fourth quarter as well – netting 13 of his game-high 30 points in the game’s final 12 minutes. On the night, James finished 9-for-23 from the floor and 12-for-17 from the stripe, adding seven boards, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
J.R. Smith pitched in with 20 points, going 5-for-10 from long-distance and 7-for-15 overall before fouling out late in the fourth. Smith has now canned at least four three-pointers in 15 games this season.
Kyrie Irving added 19 points in the loss, going 7-for-15 from the floor to go with six assists and three boards.
Kevin Love was the only other Cavalier in double-figures, adding 10 points and five boards before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a left thigh bruise.
Both teams shot 43 percent from the floor, but the Celtics shot 84 percent from the stipe compared to Cleveland’s 60 percent. Boston outrebounded the Wine and Gold, 49-47 – outscoring them in the paint, 48-38, and on the break.
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TT with the putback.
Watch final game highlights.
After just a single lead-change in the game’s first 26 minutes, there were five ties and seven lead-changes in just the frenetic fourth quarter alone.
Turning Point -- In back-to-back games this week, the Cavaliers struggled in the third quarter. On Friday night, there problems actually began on the other side of intermission.
After extending their lead to 15 points late in the first period, the Wine and Gold watched Boston chip away in the second. And after J.R. Smith’s triple but Cleveland up two touchdowns with 6:24 to play, the Celtics proceeded to close the quarter on a 12-4 run – putting them in striking distance for a second-half push.
They did exactly that – scoring the first five points of the second stanza and taking the lead less than two minutes into the period. Both teams took turns with the lead the rest of the way – until Bradley and the Celtics got the last laugh at the final buzzer.
By the Numbers – 7.6 … points that LeBron James is averaging in the fourth quarter this season – tied with Stephen Curry for the league’s best mark. With his 13-point effort on Friday night, James has now scored double-digits in the final period on 13 occasions this year.
Quotable – LeBron James, summing up Friday night’s defeat …
”We played well. We gave up a three-point play, gave up a three and didn’t get the defensive rebound. You can’t hang this on the refs and you can’t hang it on the coaching staff because they put us in the position to win. That is on us. We have to win that game.”
Up Next – After dropping a heartbreaker to the Celtics on Friday night, the Cavaliers complete their weekend back-to-back on Saturday when they welcome All-Star big man Anthony Davis and the Pelicans to The Q. Cleveland fell to the Pelicans in overtime back on December 4 in New Orleans. The Wine and Gold close out the first half of the season with a pair of Western Conference opponents they haven’t faced yet. On Monday, it’s a matchup with DeMarcus Cousins and the Kings. Two nights later, the Cavs welcome Kobe Bryant and the Lakers to the North Coast – the future Hall of Famer’s final game at Quicken Loans Arena.