The Cavaliers are going to cry when they get in the vehicle.
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Although the play call by Celtics head coach Brad Stevens originally called for All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas to take the final shot, Thomas, double-covered in the corner, was unable to find an opening, instead tossing the rock out to Bradley who calmly collected himself, stepped back towards the corner and buried a game-winning three in the face of Cleveland shooting guard Iman Shumpert. Like when J.R. Smith mindlessly fouled Evan Turner on a baseline drive with 5.9 seconds to play.
Their most recent loss came on the road against the Orlando Magic (114-119), and they’ve had wins against the New York Knicks (97-89) and the Detroit Pistons (102-95) in the time since then. But I just kept pushing.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (35-13): Cleveland had a nine-point halftime lead at Charlotte before the Hornets won the third quarter by a 33-17 margin, continuing a troubling trend for the Cavaliers, who have been outscored in the third in the last three games by a combined 32 points.
Butler was then helped to a rolling chair and wheeled into the locker room for further examination (see full recap).
“I was planning to foul (Cavs forward Timofey) Mozgov, but neither one of us was expecting Evan to actually miss the free throw”, Smart told reporters in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England.
Jae Crowder is a little banged up, but hopes it won’t keep him of another showdown with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Marcus Smart made a great effort to go for the rebound”, said Stevens.
This gap increased to 92-85 with 3:18 left in the contest, as the Celtics staked claim to an 11-2 run.
Now the Cavs will wait to learn the severity of Love’s latest injury.
Love, who missed almost six months after his left shoulder was injured by Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk during their playoff series last season, was bumped by Thomas under the basket Friday with two minutes left in the quarter.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (29-22): This marks Boston’s first trip to Cleveland since it lost the first two games of a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs last April, and the surging Celtics are eyeing this as a chance to make a statement.
James was 12 of 17 from the line and became the 19th player in league history with 6,000 free throws.
Thomas didn’t always pick the right spots, Crowder only had one field goal while playing through an ankle injury, and still the Celtics came all the way back from an early 15-point deficit.
Cavaliers: G Matthew Dellavedova missed his second straight game with a sore left hamstring….
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Echoed Stevens: “I’d say that this group has never [stopped playing] – that’s been a calling card of this group”. “Everything I do is Doc Rivers-driven”.
