The Cavaliers basketball players started the first series with the winners of the NBA regular season Boston Celtics with a 95:120 failure, but in the second match on the road they hit back with an almost identical result – 118:94 (30:24, 24:30, 36:24, 28:16 ).
“We expected them to play better. They did that, but we didn’t respond in kind,” Celtics center Al Horford admitted after the game.
He started the match again in the starting five, because the injured Latvian Kristaps Porzingis is unlikely to help the Boston team throughout this series.
The Cavaliers, for their part, were again without their starting center Jarrett Allen.
Vida Press photo/Donovan Mitchell
The guests even trailed at first (5:14, 43:51), but broke through the match in the second half, initially accumulating a double-digit lead (77:66), and in the fourth quarter they began to crush the hosts (118:29).
“When we defend like we did and when our shots fall, then we can win in any arena,” Cavaliers coach JB Bickerstaff said.
With the win, Cleveland took away home field advantage from the best team in the regular season.
The series is now tied at 1-1, and the next two meetings will take place in Cleveland.
VIDEO: FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS: Celtics drop Game 2 at home to Cleveland Cavaliers
Celtics: Jayson Tatum 25 (7 rebounds, 6 assists), Jaylen Brown 19 (0/6 trgs), Payton Pritchard 13, Al Horford 11 (3/7 trgs), Derrick White 10 (1 /8 trit.).
Cavaliers: Donovan Mitchell 29 (5/7 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 7 rpg), Evan Mobley (10 rpg) and Caris LeVert (6 rpg) – 21 each, Darius Garland 14 ( 4/5 trg., 7 rpg.), Max Strus (2/7 trg., 6 rpg.) and Isaac Okoro – 12 each.
