Celtics Bounce Cavs in Beantown

The Celtics seemed to come out with a message for the young Cavaliers …

Not so fast.

The Cavaliers came into Sunday’s contest having won three straight, including two over the new-look Nets. Boston had dropped three straight, including two losses to their archrival Sixers.

Determined to show that they’re still one of the Conference big boys, the Celtics played with an edge from the opening tip – taking a double-digit lead less than four minutes into the game and never looking back over the next three quarters – handing Cleveland the lopsided 141-103 loss at the TD Garden.

The newly defensive-minded Cavaliers didn’t have their usual intensity in Beantown – allowing the Celtics to score at least 35 points in each of the first three quarters. By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, Brad Stevens had turned to Tacko Fall and Co.

The good news was that seven Cavaliers finished in double-figures. The bad news was that nobody netted more than 13 points.

Collin Sexton was that player with 13 points – snapping a streak of 20-plus point scoring nights that dated back to last season at 15. The Young Bull was 3-of-8 from the floor in just over 16 minutes of work, going 7-of-7 from the stripe, but finishing with a team-high six miscues in the loss.

Three others finished with 12 points for Cleveland.

All four of Cedi Osman’s field goal makes were from beyond the arc, going 4-of-7 from deep and 4-of-10 overall in 17 minutes of work. Damyean Dotson tallied double-figures for the sixth time in his last seven games, going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, adding three assists and a pair of steals. Jarrett Allen missed his first two shots then hit his final five, adding a team-high seven boards, a pair of assists and a block.

The other Cavs added 11 in Sunday’s loss.

Andre Drummond failed to double-up for just the second time this year, adding five boards and a pair of blocked shots. Dylan Windler went 3-of-6 from the floor, adding four boards and three assists. JaVale McGee saw action for the first time in over a week – going 5-of-10 from the field to go with six boards and two rejections.

Jaylen Brown, coming off a 42-point night in Friday’s loss to Philly, led everyone on Sunday – finishing with 33 points in just 19 minutes of work, going 13-for-20 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from long-range and 4-of-4 from the stripe.

Tristan Thompson was the only Celtic starter who didn’t score in double-figures, but the beloved former Cavalier led both squads with 12 rebounds.

Miss any of the action? Find all the highlights and photos in the Game Tracker.

Damyean Dotson gets the steal on defense and starts the fast break. He passes ahead to Andre Drummond who dunks with two hands to finish the play.

This one was never really a contest.

The Cavaliers sole lead of the night came on Andre Drummond’s hook shot to start the scoring. Boston went up 15-5 with just over eight minutes to play in the first and led by 17 points by the end of the period.

Things went that way from there. Cleveland was down three touchdowns at intermission and trailed by as many as 41 points in the second half.

By the Numbers - 52.0 … points per game that the Cavaliers bench is averaging in the three games since making the trade to acquire Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince from the Nets.

In the previous 13 games, the bench averaged 26.0ppg.

Jarrett Allen, on the team learning a lesson on Sunday night in Boston …

"We can say that we learned it after the game, but I don’t think we’ve learned it until we show how we play tomorrow night. If we come out like we did tonight, it might not be 30 points, it might be 70 points against the defending Champions. We can’t verbally say we learned a lesson. We have to show it out on the floor."

Enjoy the best broadcast calls of the night from Cavaliers Radio Network's Tim Alcorn and Rafa Hernandez-Brito from Power 89.1.

After taking one on the chin in Boston, the Wine & Gold return home – where they’ll play six of their next eight, beginning with a Monday night meeting against LeBron James and the World Champion Lakers.

The Cavaliers host the Pistons on Wednesday night before hitting the road to close the month – facing the Knicks in New York on Friday followed by a meeting with the T-Wolves on Sunday in Minnesota.

Cleveland begins the month of February with a four-game homestand – welcoming the Timberwolves, followed by the Clippers and a weekend back-to-back against the Bucks.