Boston Moves to 17-5 Following Gritty Win Against Cleveland
The Boston Celtics defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-113 Wednesday night, moving them to 17-5 on the season. The Celtics were able to dig themselves out of a 15-point hole early in the first quarter before putting the game away with a timely 7-0 run in the final stages.
This wasn't the prettiest performance of the year for the C's, but the W counts all the same. Jaylen Brown was outstanding tonight, scoring 25 points on 10/17 shooting. He kept the Celtics within striking distance in the 1st quarter, helping to avoid an even bigger deficit.
Jayson Tatum (25 Pts, 10 Reb) and Kristaps Porzingis (21 Pts, 10 Reb) both scored 20-plus but were inefficient by their standards. Despite a rough shooting night for those two, the Celtics overcame it thanks to a perfect night from the charity stripe (26/26). After giving up 29 or more points in the first three quarters, Boston's defense buckled down in the 4th, allowing just 21 points in the final period. Even with Cleveland making 19 threes, 8 more than their season average, the Celtics found a way to lock in defensively in crunch time.
The Celtics will put their perfect 11-0 home record on the line in their next game Thursday when they face Cleveland for the 2nd straight game.