BOSTON: Five-time Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick considered Wednesday night’s Cavaliers-Celtics showdown such an event that he skipped the NFL Combine to sit underneath the basket with his girlfriend.
The clash of the two top teams in the Eastern Conference felt like a playoff game long before tip-off. Celtics coach Brad Stevens was mobbed by perhaps 50 media members when he talked nearly two hours before. Introductions drew deafening roars. The fans’ energy was frenetic.
If it foreshadowed a possible conference finals matchup, it will be a physical, nail-biting affair.
LeBron James recorded his seventh triple-double of 2016-17, equalling his most in a season, but it wasn’t enough as the Celtics pulled out a 103-99 victory. James finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Kyle Korver hit his first field goal of the night in seven attempts, a 3-pointer with 57.5 seconds remaining, to put the Cavs up 97-96, but Isaiah Thomas countered with a 3 with 49.4 seconds to go to give the Celtics a two-point lead. Kyrie Irving tied it with a driving reverse layup with 38.9 left, but those were the Cavs’ final points.
Thomas sank two free throws for a 101-99 lead with 28.1 seconds left and the Cavs’ Deron Williams missed a 3-pointer from the corner with 4.2 seconds to go. Jae Crowder was fouled on the rebound and made both for the final margin.
The Cavs had a chance to go up 3-0 in the season series, but now the Celtics can split, with the final meeting April 5 in Boston.
Behind the scenes, the Cavs were still finalizing their roster. Big man Andrew Bogut is expected to sign and join the team soon after clearing waivers at 5 p.m. Wednesday. During the game, a league source confirmed a report by Shams Charania of The Vertical that the Cavs will sign Derrick Williams for the rest of the season on Saturday when the second of his 10-day contracts expire.
The Cavs came in with a four-game lead on the Celtics and even the coaches acknowledged the importance of the matchup.
“It’s very important, playing against a great team, a well-coached team, [to] see where we’re at,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “They’re the No. 2 seed. If we can take advantage of this game then we’ll start trying to get our rest going into mid-March.”
Stevens was blunt about the Celtics’ challenge.
“I don’t think I’m saying anything earth-shattering here — we’re all chasing Cleveland,” Stevens said. “These guys will kill you if we string together possessions like we did the other night, play with less poise and don’t get back.”
The Celtics heeded his words. But that didn’t mean there weren’t extracurricular activities. Terry Rozier was called for a technical foul for firing the ball into Richard Jefferson’s back after a posterizing alley-oop dunk off a James lob. Jefferson was elbowed in the neck by Al Horford in the second quarter. Horford wouldn’t allow Irving to help up the Celtics’ Marcus Smart in the third quarter.
In 44 previous career games against the Celtics, James came in averaging 29.5 points, his best against any team in the league, along with 6.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
James was forced to carry the load for a time after Irving picked up his second foul with 3:51 left in the first quarter. With that, ex-Dallas point guard Deron Williams made his Cavs debut after signing on Monday. Irving still finished with 28 points.
The Celtics also rode their All-Star, 5-foot-9 point guard Thomas. In the first quarter, Thomas used his quickness to beat three defenders — Iman Shumpert, Irving and Williams — to the basket and two of them lost their footing.
Thomas finished with a game-high 31 points, two rebounds and five assists, but hit 3-of-9 3-pointers.
It was a rough night for Korver, who returns to Atlanta Friday for his first game since he was traded in January. Korver went 1-for-7 from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point range, scoring just four points with two rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes.
The Cavs were coming off a league-best 9-2 record in February and wanted to continue that momentum, a task made tougher by 12 of 17 games on the road this month.