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Celtics fall into old habits, drop contest to Cavs 108 - 88
February 25, 2010
The Boston Celtics are stuck in a backbreaking script. They come out hot, gaining double-digit leads behind team offense and smothering defense. Then the third quarter comes around and everything they were doing well goes in the tank. It's same episode, looping over and over again. Sometimes, they can pull out a win despite themselves. But against the elite, the Celtics aren't coming close. It happened on February 7, when they blew an 11-point halftime lead to the Orlando Magic, getting outscored 36-11 in the third quarter. And it happened Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, when a double-digit advantage was eviscerated by a 35-14 fourth quarter, the Paul Pierce-less Celtics eventually losing, 108-88. The Celtics have now blown at least 10 leads of as many points. "We didn't come here to put on a show," Kevin Garnett said. "We can't just play one half and then relax, especially against a good team, a proven team, a team full of veterans and guys who are eager." For most of the night, things looked as expected. The Celtics were playing like the better team (eight-point halftime lead), the Cavaliers playing like the team with the best player in LeBron James (21 points at the half). "In the first half, Cleveland played like us," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "They were a one pass offense. In the second half, we became them."
The change was drastic. Cleveland's defense before the break can be described generously as slow. Help rotations were frequently missed, and by the time James had to sprint cross-court to defend an Allen three which wasn't his responsibility, frustration had spread across his face. But as the game wore on and Shaquille O'Neal was taken out of the lineup with a sprained thumb, the defense quickened. Sure, Antawn Jamison and Mo Williams gave the Cavs a nice offensive boost -- Williams draining three consecutive triples in the fourth to begin the fan exodus from TD Garden -- but it was Anderson Varejao who changed the game with a defensive tour de force. "The star of the game for them was Varejao," Rivers said. "He was absolutely amazing with his energy, with his defense; he kept the ball alive. He kept them within striking range in the first half."
Varejao's quantitative contributions of 14 points and 10 rebounds, on top of a number of affected shots and tipped boards, pale in comparison to James' 36 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. But James' greatest impact may not have been on the stat sheet, as without Pierce to put a body on him, the Celtics looked beat up and worn out by the time the fourth quarter rolled along. The greatest toll, it seemed, was on Rajon Rondo, who played the first 45 minutes as he paid lesser and lesser dividends following a 14-point, eight-assist first half. "The one mistake I absolutely made was keeping him in the first quarter," Rivers said. "In the third, it affected him, and once you get there, there is no coming back." "We definitely made a conscious effort of trying to lock him down more in the second half," James said.
For Cleveland, which shook a losing streak in Boston, the victory was a confirmation of their status atop the NBA ladder, another gem of a win that will sit in Cavalier pockets, hidden away as they gear up for the playoffs. But for the Celtics, who had looked so good since the All-Star Break, it was a giant leap backwards. They have been saying they need to be a 48-minute team for more than a month, but the question used to be "when" would they, labeled a title contender, be that team. Now, that question begins with an "if". "At some point there has to be some action," Garnett said. "Doc has a saying, 'You have to run through the whole race,' and we've got to do that. Until we players decide to do that, we're going to be in this predicament."