The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers are worlds apart now as far as their lot in the NBA.
But you wouldn’t have known that by the way their Tuesday night matchup played out.
The woeful Cavaliers hung with the Celtics for three-plus quarters before Boston went on a fourth-quarter surge which propelled them to a 103-96 win.
Leading 94-91, the Celtics (35-19) scored seven straight to take their first double-digit lead of the fourth quarter before holding on for their fifth straight win, and 10th in their last 11 games.
The Cavs didn’t go away quietly, but they failed to string together enough plays at both ends of the floor in order to overcome the Celtics’ lead.
But the fact that this was as close a game as it turned out to be, will certainly not sit well with Boston head coach Brad Stevens or his players.
However, they did what they had to do to get a win, which is something they have rarely done in road games with Kyrie Irving (hip) unavailable, which is evident by the Celtics having lost 12 of their last 13 road games when Irving was not able to play.
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In addition to Irving, the Celtics were also playing without fellow starter Marcus Morris (right knee soreness) and Aron Baynes (foot).
Irving and Morris’ injuries aren’t considered long-term ones while Baynes told reporters over the weekend that he didn’t anticipate being back anytime before the All-Star break.
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s seven-point win over the Cavs:
STARS
Jayson Tatum: With no Irving or Morris, Tatum was the man charged with leading the Celtics. He finished with 25 points which included him making all 12 of his free throw attempts to go with seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal.
Collin Sexton: After being thoroughly outplayed in his last meeting against Boston, Sexton was a very different -- and much better -- player on Tuesday night. He was aggressive from the outset which set the tone for him tallying a game-high 27 points.
STUDS
Gordon Hayward: This was one of those games in which Hayward found a nice balance between being an aggressive scorer along with being an impactful playmaker. He had 18 points for the night, in addition to tallying six rebounds and five assists.
Alec Burks: When Sexton wasn’t getting buckets, the Cavs leaned heavily on Burks to carry them for stretches. He would finish the night with a solid 21-point performance on 9-for-18 shooting.
Marcus Smart: It was yet another night in which Smart made some timely baskets for the Celtics to complement what was yet another strong night for Smart. He would finish with 17 points which included a stellar 4-for-5 shooting performance from 3-point range.
DUDS
Celtics’ approach to the game: For most of this game, Boston didn’t play with any semblance of a sense of urgency and because of that, they found themselves in a tighter-than-it-should-have-been battle with one of the worst teams in the NBA. Fortunately Boston made enough plays in the game’s closing minutes to secure the victory and just as important, continue their climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
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