With the series shifting gears to Game 3 in Cleveland on Saturday, the Boston Celtics find themselves in the driver’s seat leading the Eastern Conference Finals 2-0.
After defending home court in the first two games for the third time this playoffs, the Boston Celtics look to improve upon their 1-4 road record heading to Cleveland. They have LeBron James right where they want him, trailing 0-2 in an Eastern Conference playoff series for first time since 2008 when the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers in seven games.
Boston is a perfect 37-0 in franchise history when leading 2-0 in a playoff series, but there is still plenty of work to be done before continuing that streak and returning the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
Game 1’s blowout win for the Celtics can be quickly summarized by the Cavaliers’ largest lead being 7-4 just two minutes and change into the first quarter. James shot 5-of-16 from the field, scoring a 2018 playoff-low 15 points facing a number of different Celtics’ defenders headlined by forward Marcus Morris.
With the most possessions as primary defender, Morris held James to only five points on 2-of-6 shooting, two assists and one turnover on 24 plays. He also contributed heavily on offense as one of three Celtics to score 20-plus points, joining Al Horford (20) and Jaylen Brown (23).
While the Celtics were pleased with their performance in Game 1, they knew the King would bring it for Game 2. Head Coach Brad Stevens following the Game 1 victory stated, “I think we’re very alert to the fact that we’ll get a heavyweight punch on Tuesday night.”
And a heavyweight punch they took; James came out gunning with 21 points in the first quarter, converting more field goals than he did in all of Game 1. Trailing 55-48 at the half, the C’s countered the blow by closing the last 9:15 of the third quarter on a 32-16 run to take an 84-77 lead going into the fourth. It was a lead they never surrendered, closing out Game 2 107-94 despite a 40-point triple-double from LeBron.