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Celtics finish job in Game 2, cruise to big win over Cavs 104 - 86
May 3, 2010
This time, the Boston Celtics got it right. This time, the Celtics built a first-half lead by moving the ball, hitting open jump shots and letting Rajon Rondo do a magnificent job of creating. Only this time, the Celtics refused to let that lead get away, handing Cleveland a 104-86 defeat to even their Eastern Conference semifinal at one game apiece. This one wasn't much different than the first one, with the Celtics clearly outplaying the Cavaliers in the first two quarters. The Celtics beat the Cavs to loose balls and rebounds, and kept them from getting many good looks at the basket. Just like Game 1, the Celtics had to deal with a massive Cavs rally in the second half. This time, though, they didn't act surprised. This time, the Celtics kept scratching, clawing and battling, and this time, they finished the job. And while Rondo (13 points, career-high 19 assists) was again remarkable, chalk this one up to a team effort in the truest sense. "We have a good team, but we're not gonna beat anybody individually as we are," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "But if we do it together, we have a shot."
While not even league MVP LeBron James could get anything going for the Cavs, the Celtics were as balanced as they've been all season. Ray Allen was dead on, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Kevin Garnett scored 18 and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Paul Pierce did a nice job defensively, finishing with 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins (10 points, nine boards) made five of his six shots. Then there was old pro Rasheed Wallace, who usually saves his stomps of anger for the referees. But on Tuesday, the only time Wallace became visibly upset was when he missed a jumper at the end of the third quarter. Apparently, making each of his other seven and finishing with 17 points wasn't enough. As impressive as all that was, the Celtics may have been even better at the other end. They held the Cavs to a miserable 40 percent shooting, including 3-for-16 from the starting backcourt of Mo Williams (1-for-9) and Anthony Parker (2-for-7). "When you're on the road in a hostile environment against the best team in the league, it is definitely a big win," Garnett said. "I thought we moved the ball a lot and stayed aggressive. Rasheed played really big tonight. He was the difference to me. ... That's pretty much the game plan for how we have to beat this team. We have to do it together." If there's one thing the Celtics can safely say, it's that their guards have dominated the first two games. If there's one thing the Cavs can safely say, it's that they need considerably more from Williams. "He's got to step up; it's as simple as that," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "It's going to be tough for us to win a series if Mo plays like that." James scored 24 to lead the Cavs, but had just 12 in the first three quarters, when he appeared tentative and, for the most part, deferred to teammates. He also finished with more turnovers (five) than assists (four).
"I feel like they made some adjustments and I didn't react to them the best way," James said. The Celtics took a 52-48 lead at halftime behind 5-for-5 shooting and 13 points from Wallace. Allen scored 10 and Rondo passed for 12 assists. Also, for the second straight game, the Celtics shot better than 50 percent (21-for-41, 51 percent) in the first two quarters, while holding the Cavs to 42 percent (16-for-38). Then the Celtics controlled the entire third quarter and most of the fourth, building the lead to 91-66 with 8:32 left in the game. That's when the Cavs went on a 15-0 run that spanned four minutes, giving the Celtics every reason to tuck their tails between their legs and run for the hills. Instead, they kept attacking the basket, figuring that somehow, someway something was bound to drop. And it did, courtesy of drive by Pierce.
When it did, it appeared to give the Celtics the last lift they needed. After Rondo and Allen followed Pierce's biggie with a few shots of their own, this one was history, and the Celtics suddenly owned the home-court advantage. "They kicked our behind from the beginning," Brown said. "They got every 50/50 ball, they converted every offensive rebound into points and we did not fight back until late. We have to decide if we are going take the fight to them and take these games. Nothing is going to be given to us." The normally laid-back Brown was as openly disgusted as he's ever been after the game, and he had no problem letting the world know. "If we expect to win this series, we have to bring more of a sense of urgency than what we brought tonight," he said. "This series is one-to-one. We are going to see what we are made of come Game 3." Antawn Jamison added 16 points for the Cavs. Anderson Varejao scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds before leaving the game in the second half with back spasms.