The Cleveland Cavaliers win the season opener against the Boston Celtics with 102:99 (BOXSCORE).The Cavs defy a mega comeback of the guests thanks to LeBron James.They have a severe shock to digest.
From Celtics’ point of view, the evening was actually over after just under six minutes.After a failed Alley-Oop attempt, Gordon Hayward landed extremely unhappy on the floor and broke his left ankle.The shock was visible to the players on both sides, but the Cavaliers found their way back into the lane more quickly.LeBron James and Co. took a 14:2 run to the end of the first section.for the first time.
The Cavaliers kept everything under control for the rest of the game.Led by a very strong LeBron James, who played 29 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists, Cleveland played a meanwhile 18-point lead – then the Celtics returned.
Boston played well in the third section.On the one hand, the entire team – led by Marcus Smart (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (25 points) – took it one gear higher, and on the other hand Celtics exploited Cleveland’s numerous mistakes mercilessly.Towards the end of the third quarter, Boston even recorded a short-term lead.
Celtics’ mega comeback enabled an open exchange of blows in the final section.No team was able to make a decisive difference, but the King himself made the difference.With an Alley-Oop followed by a strong spin-move in the Zone, LBJ set off its scent in the offense.On the other side of the court he convinced with a good defense in the decisive minutes.Two attempts by the Celts to equalise in the last few seconds of downtown failed.Despite an extremely weak third quarter, the Cavaliers won the season opener with a score of 102:99.
Cavaliers vs.Celtics: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
LeBron James.There was absolutely no sign of a damaged ankle in LBJ.James delivered an excellent performance: On the one hand he convinced with a good defense, on the other hand he led the offense of the Cavs to success with partly spectacular plays – both as a playmaker and as a scorer.But the Celtics didn’t make it easy for him, which was impressively demonstrated by the torn jersey at the end of the game.
Al Horford.There was not enough to see from the Celtics Center.Horford was unable to set any accents in the offensive.He scored only 9 points and scored only 2 of his 7 attempts from the field.At least he collected 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
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The halftime speech by Brad Stevens.Celtics’ head coach seemed to find exactly the right words to get his team back on track after the shock of Gordon Hayward’s injury.He also knew how to use Marcus Smart’s permanent pickup to uncover and exploit the defensive weaknesses of the opposing guards.In addition, Celtics showed an unbridled commitment on both sides of the court, which made the comeback possible in the first place.