The C's end up fouling LeBron James on the inbound — he gets to the line and hits one of two, and Perkins comes up with a huge rebound after LeBron's miss. The Cavs hack Perk, but Perk misses two free throws; LeBron gets one last chance to be the hero, but he misses a three in transition with five seconds to play.
From there, the Cavs have no recourse in the final five seconds, desperately fouling Kevin Garnett and watching in despair as KG hits both free throws. That puts the game out of reach for good. The C's hold on for a tremendous win over the NBA's best team. It's a happy Easter Sunday in Boston.
Fourth quarter, 12.7 seconds, Celtics 115-112: Jamario Moon is forced to foul Paul Pierce right away, and Pierce gets to the line and hits one of two. The Cavs are down to their last possession now, and they need three. Who takes the last shot when you need a big 3-ball? Anthony Parker? They don't exactly have the marksmen to get the job done in this spot.
Fourth quarter, 16.0 seconds, Celtics 114-111: Tony Allen is whistled for a questionable goaltending call on an Anthony Parker three, but in any event, he redeems himself with a huge bucket down low to bring the Celtics' lead back to three. The C's are in position to finish this thing off.
Fourth quarter, 47.5 seconds, Celtics 112-108: They do indeed get the stop, and they execute perfectly on the other end to pad their lead with a huge, huge, huge insurance bucket.
Rather than force a mid-range jumper with two, maybe three guys in his face ready to swat it away, Paul Pierce kicks it out to an open Ray Allen on the wing, and Ray knocks down a beautiful three as the shot clock expires, pushing the Boston lead back to four with under a minute to play. Ray now has 33 points in this game, just an incredible shooting performance to lead the Celtics in this game.
Fourth quarter, 1:25, Celtics 109-108: The Cavs keep hacking, and the Celtics keep draining their free throws. KG for two this time, and Boston is back on top. Now they need a stop.
Fourth quarter, 1:30, Cavs 108-107: LeBron again. To the hole and in. He's got 40. Can the Celtics stop this man? Ever?
Fourth quarter, 2:03, Celtics 105-104: Two huge clutch free throws from Ray Allen. Is there anyone in the game you'd rather have at the line in that spot? I think not.
Fourth quarter, 2:38, Cavs 104-103: The Cavs finally take the lead on a bank shot from Anthony Parker, but the Cavs are dealt a big blow on the following possession when Zydrunas Ilgauskas hacks KG and is called for his sixth foul. He's done. The Cavs now have the lead, but can they hold it?
Fourth quarter, 3:14, Celtics 103-102: Rondo gets T'd up, LeBron gets to the line, and he hits it. One-point game, and LeBron has 38.
Fourth quarter, 3:47, Celtics 103-99: Sloppy ball-handling from Paul Pierce leads to a loose ball on the wing in the waning seconds of the shot clock — Pierce comes up with it, but the shot clock goes off and the C's turn it over again.
Momentum is seriously swinging the Cavs' way now. Doc needs a timeout with 3:47 left, as the Celtics desperately try to find a way to hold off LeBron James and keep the Cavs at bay. Hard to believe that one quarter ago, this was a 21-point Boston lead and the Cavs were in disarray. They have come just about all the way back.
Fourth quarter, 5:28, Celtics 101-96: LeBron has scored 12 of the Cavaliers' 17 points so far in this fourth quarter, and when he's not doing it himself, he's getting the assist.
LBJ kicks it to a wide-open Antawn Jamison for an open 3; the Cavs are now within five at 101-96, and the King now has 32 points and seven assists, leading the way as the Cavs try to come all the way back. Can they do it?
Fourth quarter, 7:21, Celtics 101-87: LeBron gets going in transition and throws down a ridiculous leaping, hanging, swinging dunk in the face of Rajon Rondo, but the Celtics come right back.
Deadly mid-range jumper from KG off an assist from Rondo on the Celtics' next possession, and the Boston lead is back to 14 just like that. The Celtics look poised to put this game away.
Fourth quarter, 9:11, Celtics 98-85: The Celtics have gone the first three minutes of this quarter without a point.
Maybe something snapped for the Cavaliers, and they suddenly decided to toughen up defensively. The easy looks just aren't there anymore, and the Cavs are making everything difficult. They're playing like they want to have a shot at this thing — a couple more stops and a couple more clutch shots from King James, and the Celtics might have to start taking this game seriously again.
End of third quarter, Celtics 98-81: Serious, legitimate question — do the Cavaliers even know who Gino is? Do you think LeBron James or Zydrunas Ilgauskas has ever looked up to the rafters at the TD Garden and seen the victory dance for themselves? If the Celtics can finish the deal, this could be the most convincing win they've had in a long, long time over a top NBA title contender. You want a statement win? Ray Allen has 27 points, the entire Boston starting five is in double figures, and the C's are stating loud and clear that they can compete with the best of them.
Third quarter, 3:19, Celtics 89-72: The Cavs keep making little baby steps toward getting back into this game — a 3-ball from Antawn Jamison here, a couple of nice running jumpers from LeBron there. But they're unable to sustain any kind of momentum — every time the Cavs make a push, the C's have an answer. (And it's usually in the form of a deep 3 from Ray Allen.) This isn't the same Cavs team we saw three weeks ago — those guys were able to keep things close for three quarters, come to life and then manhandle the Celtics in crunch time. That doesn't look like it's happening this time. The Celtics are in control.
Third quarter, 6:02, Celtics 83-62: The fireworks go off at the TD Garden, as the frustration of 30 awful minutes of basketball boils over for the Cavaliers. Mo Williams gets T'd up for mouthing off after an easy layup from Rajon Rondo, and Cavs coach Mike Brown erupts with fury after the Williams technical call, ending up with a double technical of his own and a lightning-fast ejection. Ray Allen gets to the line for three free throws, and he makes them all. The Cavs are now down over 20 for the first time, they're without their head coach, and they're completely unable to stop Ray Allen. Ray is 8-for-14 from the floor, 4-for-6 from 3-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. A game-high 24 points now for the Celtics' veteran, and this game is becoming a runaway.
Third quarter, 9:09, Celtics 72-53: What can you say? The Cavaliers are just letting the Celtics have whatever they want offensively, establishing position on the low post or creating open shots from outside with ease. It's almost like the Cavs have stopped trying out there. You keep expecting LeBron to wake up, go off for 12 straight points, and put the Cavs right back in this game in the blink of an eye. But so far, that just hasn't happened. The Celtics seem to have figured these guys out.
Halftime, Celtics 64-49: Paul Pierce steps up and hits a big three on the Celtics' penultimate possession of the first half, pushing the Boston lead to 12 and firing up the crowd at the TD Garden. LeBron answers with a long two, and Kendrick Perkins comes right back, draws a foul and drains two free throws. To rub salt in their wounds, the C's then force a turnover and Rondo drills a three at the buzzer to make the lead 15. That's the way this entire first half has gone — every time the Cavs gain any ground, the Celtics turn around and put them in their place. Just a stunningly good first half for the Celtics on their home floor.
Second quarter, 3:05, Celtics 50-42: It'll be interesting to see how big a role foul trouble plays in this game. The Cavs are already playing without Shaq and without Anderson Varejao this afternoon; they've since watched Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Antawn Jamison each pick up three fouls in this first half. I guess we can expect a lot of J.J. Hickson and a lot of Leon Powe from here on out — it's a smaller lineup that way, but one with a lot of energy and a lot of heart. Expect the Cavs to fight hard to stay in this game.
Second quarter, 6:34, Celtics 47-34: Really, it's almost like someone forgot to tell the Cavaliers to play defense when they showed up to the Garden this morning. Even the Celtics' undersized offensive weapons — Rondo, Ray Allen, Glen Davis — are getting into the lane and scoring easily, really without much opposition. The Celtics are clearly playing like they want this game much more than the Cavaliers, and you can see it in their effort. Maybe it's just a matter of time before LeBron wakes up and the Cavs kick into high gear… or maybe the Celtics just have their number today. Time will tell.
Second quarter, 9:30, Celtics 38-30: With Pierce and LeBron each sitting out for their respective teams, this game has become a battle of inside scorers. Rasheed Wallace has started to become more of a post presence for Boston, getting inside for a couple of short jumpers, while the Cavs have relied upon Zydrunas Ilgauskas and former Celtic Leon Powe to carry the load offensively. The Celtics continue to execute very well, and they maintain an eight-point lead in this pivotal Easter Sunday game.
End of first quarter, Celtics 33-24: If you're the Celtics, you absolutely can't complain with this first quarter, as the C's build up a nine-point lead thanks to seven assists and zero turnovers, a 14-10 rebounding advantage over the energetic Cavaliers, and 26 field-goal attempts to the Cavs' 18 in the first quarter. Both teams are shooting well overall (exactly 50 percent, in fact), but the Celtics are getting better opportunities and more of them. A very encouraging first quarter for a Boston team coming off of three straight losses.
First quarter, 3:11, Celtics 23-17: Once again, Tony Allen is coming off the bench early in the game and absolutely playing his heart out. Doc Rivers has been saying for a long time that if T.A. keeps playing hard, he's going to keep getting more minutes, and so far we've seen a lot of T.A. and no Marquis Daniels for Boston. The Celtics could use his athleticism, especially defensively on the wings as the Cavs are threatening to shoot the lights out all day from 3-point land.
First quarter, 6:16, Celtics 17-12: If you'd asked the Celtics this morning whether they wanted to go half the first quarter without a single point from Paul Pierce, they'd probably be a little nervous. But tell them they'd be up five? And shooting a pristine 8-of-12 from the floor? Yeah, they'd probably take that. The Celtics' game hasn't been flawless, but they're executing well and hitting the shots they need in order to hold a lead against the NBA-best Cavaliers.
First quarter, 9:02, Celtics 8-5: The Celtics looked superb on the first two or three possessions of this game, stifling the Cavs' every attempt to get an open shot and on the other end, getting inside shots with Ray Allen and Kendrick Perkins. But things are starting to crumble for the C's now — Kevin Garnett's jumpers aren't falling, the offense isn't running as smoothly and for Cleveland, that LeBron guy is starting to wake up. Be very afraid, Boston.
12:26 p.m.: Apparently no one's done singing their hymns or finding their eggs yet — for half an hour to game time in a huge Eastern Conference showdown, we're still looking at a relatively empty TD Garden. But no doubt, the place will fill up as we draw near to game time, and it'll be rocking. This is the final matchup this season between the Celtics and the NBA-best Cavaliers, a crucial game in the race for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference. Boston will be ready for this one.
8 a.m.: No one likes being kicked when they're down. But the Celtics are pretty far down after three losses in a row on their home court, and they've got a scary matchup awaiting them as they attempt to dodge a fourth.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of 11 of their last 12 games and 17 of their last 19, visit the TD Garden on Easter Sunday looking to solidify their place as the best team in the NBA. They're on the verge of locking up home-court advantage throughout the postseason, and a win in Boston would be a huge boost.
For the Celtics, every game counts in the race for the No. 3 seed in the East playoffs. The C's have just seven games to go before the postseason, and they need to figure things out in time to head into playoff basketball going strong.
It's time to find out what will prevail — the wisdom and experience of the grizzled veteran Celtics, or the dominating star power of the one and only LeBron James.
