They almost believed it! Authors of an encouraging first half in this Game 1 at the TD Garden in Boston, the Cavaliers ended up facing the facts, overtaken by the unleashed Celtics and who ended up winning by KO, going as far as to relegate Cleveland to 25 points at the end of the fourth quarter!
Cleveland started rather well, coming back from a 12-2 start, quickly getting back into the race thanks to 3-pointers from Isaac Okoro twice, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland (19-18). Donovan Mitchell even briefly put his team in the lead before seeing Jaylen Brown and then Jayson Tatum respond to him. But again, even if Boston finished the first act at 40 points, the Cavs did better than resist, this time with Caris LeVert twice and a 3-pointer from Marcus Morris to stick to the C's basques (40-34).
During a more defensive second quarter, JB Bickerstaff's men continued to hang on, with Evan Mobley's dunk and Donovan Mitchell's 2+1 to respond to Derrick White's 3-pointer and allow for his team to stay in the race at rest time (59-49).
Derrick White, the detonator
It was in the third quarter that everything changed, with a still breathtaking Derrick White at the helm! After the notable passage of Jrue Holiday and his two arrows from distance, Derrick White simply caught fire, making four 3-point baskets over the period to widen the gap with the Cavs who could only see the damage. Payton Pritchard's 3-pointer at the buzzer of the third quarter set the tone for the rest (92-77).
Jaylen Brown and Al Horford did what was necessary to make it 13-4 from the start of a one-sided fourth quarter (105-81). Enough to allow Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard from afar to conclude the deal in a chair for a convincing first victory, 120 to 95.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Derrick White and Jaylen Brown unstoppable. The two made rain and shine in attack without the Cavs being able to contain them. JB put his team on the right track and was able to finish the job without trembling while Derrick White cracked a 14-point third quarter to bring down Cleveland, with a nice 7/12 from afar. arrived for him. Between them, they carried the Boston attack, letting Jayson Tatum and his 7/19 pass between the drops without problem. As against Miami, Derrick White was the X factor in Game 1.
– What can Cleveland do? The Cavs were simply beaten by stronger players than them in this match, and really have nothing to be ashamed of with their performance. Apart from a slightly weak outside shooting percentage (26.2 to 11/42), JB Bickerstaff's men defended rather well, only lost 5 balls in attack, Donovan Mitchell was there (33 points to 12/25 shooting), but Boston just attacked better, making contested baskets and finding solutions to each situation. For Cleveland, these will be minimal adjustments to try and do better in Game 2, although again, if Boston plays like this, there won't be much to hope for.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
