The Celtics were down two starters Thursday night when they took on the defending champion Cavaliers in Cleveland, but for what Boston lacked in depth, it surely made up in heart.
Boston trailed by double-digits throughout most of the game and faced a 104-88 deficit with 8:46 left in the game, but the C’s were able to cut Cleveland’s lead in half in just 57 seconds.
The Celtics managed to get within six points, but they could not keep Cleveland from getting to the free throw line during the last three-plus minutes, and it prevented them from getting any closer.
The Cavs went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line during the last 3:23, and maintained its distance in the scoring department as it hung on for a 128-122 win.
Free throws played a huge role for both teams. The Celtics, behind Isaiah Thomas’ 14-for-14 performance from the line, shot 86.4 percent as a team from the stripe. Cleveland was nearly identical, posting an 86.5 percent clip, behind a 12-of-13 performance from Kevin Love.
The major difference, however, was that Cleveland got to the line 15 more times than the Celtics, including those final 10 free throws that cut off Boston’s late-game comeback effort.
Avery Bradley provided the juice for Boston’s comeback attempt during the fourth quarter.
The red-hot shooting guard scored seven points during the opening four-plus minutes of the fourth, leading Boston on a 13-4 run to open up the final frame.
He tallied nine points and five rebounds during the fourth quarter, which gave him a total of 26 points and 10 rebounds on the night.
Bradley entered this season with two double-doubles during his 358-game career. He already has two through five games this season, and his efforts Wednesday night nearly led Boston to a short-handed comeback against the defending champs.
