The Cleveland Cavaliers were unable to extend their winning streak to four as they fell to the Boston Celtics by a score of 129-117.
The Cavaliers winning streak had to end sometime. That time just happened to be Friday afternoon against the Celtics. Boston had control of the game from the start, scoring 33 points in the 1st quarter. Cleveland is just not equipped to compete with teams that take an 11 point lead after just one quarter. At one point, Boston extended their lead to 23 points, hardly a surprise for a superior Celtics team. While the final differential was only 12, it was more due to the fact of Boston emptying their bench and not Cleveland fighting their way back into the game.
Love, Sexton and Porter Jr. lead Cavaliers scoring effort
The Cavaliers were led scoring-wise by Kevin Love. Love scored 30 points, going 10-16 from the field, this includes 6-11 from deep. While Kevin Love was one of the bright spots for Cleveland on offense, things did not appear to be going well on defense Early on in the game Love was frequently frustrated after Boston would score. Things appear to be getting worse before they are getting better.
Collin Sexton was the only other Cavaliers player who scored 20 or more points. Sexton added 21 points on 9-20 shooting. Sexton limited his three-point attempts again, only taking two and missing both. This was the sixth straight game in which Sexton attempted two or less from deep. It appears that Sexton his either aware of his struggles from three-point range this season or he is being instructed to take less. At some point his efficiency will have to improve, Sexton is only making 27.7% of his attempts from three this season. This is 13% worse than last season. Sexton has shown that he is better than what he has shown this season and it is entirely possible he corrects the problem sooner rather than later.
Kevin Porter Jr. scored in double-digits for the second consecutive game. With 16 points on 5-9 shooting and made all five attempts from the free throw line. Porter will need to contribute and be an integral part of the Cavaliers game plan moving forward. Perhaps at some point Porter could enter the starting lineup. There will be plenty of opportunities for Porter to prove himself. Cleveland has to evaluate their young players and build for the future. Porter certainly appears to be a part of Cleveland’s future.
