The Celtics’ lead ballooned to 25 points with 9:07 left after Kevin Garnett put back his own miss. The margin seemed too big and time seemed too slim.
The witnesses that showered LeBron James with cheers as he accepted the MVP award before tipoff last night headed for home. They missed the Cavs deconstruct the Celtics’ lead in minutes, going on a 15-0 run with James and J.J. Hickson leading the charge.
“We were stuck on 91 points for an hour it felt like,’’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I just kept telling our guys ‘the clock is still moving.’ We need one bucket. We just need somebody to make one shot.’ ’’
Paul Pierce got a finger roll to go with 3:28 left and by the time Garnett drained a 19-footer with 1:14 remaining the Celtics could let down their guard. They had finally built a lead the Cavs couldn’t recover from. At that point, the remaining fans began to clear out, refusing to watch the Celtics finish off a 104-86 Game 2 victory.
After letting a winnable series opener slip away, the Celtics left Cleveland with a split with three days to rest before the series resumes Friday.
“We knew what happened last time when we let up,’’ said Kendrick Perkins. “Doc said we’ve got to keep taking punches. When they throw punches we’ve got to take them and keep coming.’’
Allen’s 22 points had taken the air out of the Q Arena. He took just two shots in the fourth quarter of the Game 1 loss, and Rivers stressed the importance of getting Allen open.
He weaved around the court for 39 minutes. Cleveland tried to chase him with as many bodies as possible — James, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Delonte West — but they couldn’t stop him from drilling 8 of 15 shots and nailing 3 of 7 3-pointers.
In his ongoing quest to erase Bob Cousy from the Celtics’ record book, Rajon Rondo set the franchise’s postseason record for assists in a game with 19, tying the 19 he put up in triple overtime against Chicago in the first round last season.
The Celtics shot 51.3 from the floor and held the Cavs to 40 percent. They kept James boxed in most of the night, allowing him just five first-half shots and holding him to a modest 24 points.
