The 76-72 final score tells you just about all you really need to know.
The game was awash with negative numbers. You could start anywhere, but here's one eyebrow-raiser: LeBron James shot 2 for 18 (and don't forget the 10 turnovers). So how was Cleveland even in the game?
Perhaps it's because Paul Pierce shot 2 for 14, missing every shot he attempted longer than a foot. Ray Allen was 0 for 4. The mathematics did not elude Mr. Pierce.
"We played him [LeBron] to a standoff," reasoned the Celtics captain. "Combined, we shot 2 for 18, also."
The Cavaliers shot 30.7 percent (23 for 75), but they were in the game until the final 10 seconds, largely because the Celtics were completely self-destructive. It's not often you win an NBA game when you have a mere eight more field goals than turnovers (29-21), but that's what happened last night. Eliminate the stupid turnovers and the 24-second violations and the Celtics cruise home and the fans wouldn't have to wait until it was over to satisfy their Gino fix.
The coaches are always required to put the happy spin on these types of disasters. You know they're going to attribute this mess to great playoff defense. Cleveland's Mike Brown obviously read the manual.
"It was a tough, defensive-mind-set game," he said. "Both teams came out and competed. Boston just happened to come out on top tonight. They had one more stop than us."
Well, yes and no. The game did come down to a Cleveland possession with the Cavaliers trailing by 2 following a very nice Kevin Garnett spinning move to the hoop on overmatched Joe Smith with 21.4 seconds left. That broke a 72-72 tie created by a Zydrunas Ilgauskas tip-in of a James miss with 39 seconds left.
James was 2 for 18, but there was never any question about who would get the ball. After he dribbled the clock down, Big Z came out to create a high pick-and-roll (what a shock). LeBron took it to the hoop on James Posey and he arrived on the right side with a very good look at the basket.
Most nights, that baby's going in. But this was an absolutely aberrational evening for the young superstar. The ball just would not drop. Posey grabbed the rebound, got fouled, and made them both to put the game away.
