Cleveland Cavaliers edge out Boston Celtics; Kyrie Irving shines in comeback win – NBA Recap
The Cleveland Cavaliers secured an impressive 88 – 87 victory over an Eastern Conference power house, the Boston Celtics. The Celtics though they had the game won at the TD Garden but a late charge from the Cavaliers left them clutching straws as the young
Kyrie Irving led his side to victory.
Irving, the number 1 pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, scored a game high 23 points and also laid on 6 assists. Anderson Varejao was impressive for the Cavaliers as well, scoring 18 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Ray Allen top scored for Boston with 22 points. Paul Pierce had a strong all round display with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 7 rebounds while Brandon Bass bagged 13.
The first half of the game was very evenly contested. Boston and the Cavaliers remained close and ended the first quarter apart by just a single point. The second followed more or less the same pattern and by half time the score was 44 – 43 to the Cavs.
The game got really interesting after the interval. The Celtics came out all guns blazing and took the game to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cs had a 9 – 0 burst near the end that helped them solidify their grip on the game and when the third segment finished
they were up by 8, the score 70 – 62.
The battle hardened Boston team looked set to seal the game in the fourth with some robust basketball. They had an 8 – 0 spurt that gave them a double digit advantage near the half way mark. The Cavaliers however simply took over at the end, running riot
with a 12 – 0 charge to end the game ahead by just a single point at 88 – 87.
The Celtics couldn’t believe that they let the game slip away so easily at the end and head coach Doc Rivers was not pleased about their efforts at all.
"This was a bad loss for us. Not that it was Cleveland; it was that we had the game under control. And we didn't take care of it." He said.
The Cavs gave the ball to rookie sensation Irving with the game on the line and the youngster responded with an amazing layup to hand them the victory. After the game Kyrie spoke of his delight at winning the game and thanked his teammates for trusting him
with such a big responsibility.
"It feels good, especially have the confidence of my teammates. They gave me the ball at the end of the game and trusted me to make that shot. It was a tough comeback, but we carried it out and I'm really proud of my teammates."
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