Boston Celtics carve up Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 game thoughts & observations
The Celtics did what they are supposed to do
Yes, it was just the Cleveland Cavaliers (without Kevin Love), but the major positive from the game is the fact that the Boston Celtics blew out a team at home that they were supposed to blow out at home.
With awful showings against teams like the New York Knicks and Utah Jazz at TD Garden, the Celtics almost fell into the trap of playing down to their opponents during the second quarter.
Kyrie Irving, Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart, however, wouldn’t allow that to continue. A late second-half flurry really put the game away. The most important part was that the team smelled blood and went in for the kill to begin the second half.
In building their lead to more than 30 points in that second half, the Boston Celtics showed their ability to put their foot on the pedal and close games, which has been one of their struggles this season.
Smart summed it up nicely following the game:
Marcus Smart talks about how important the first five minutes of the third quarter were tonight in pulling ahead. https://t.co/oex5Tm7PjY
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 1, 2018
As a whole, the team played connected, played with intensity on both ends of the court and showed the type of dominance fans were expecting heading into the season.