BOSTON — Visions of Tristan Thompson are going to haunt the Celtics’ nightmares this summer.
Save for LeBron James, the reserve big man has been the most important player for the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round playoff series, proving himself a force on the offensive glass that the Celtics simply have not found an answer for.
Thompson racked up 14 offensive rebounds over the first three games of the series — all Cavaliers wins — and his 13th and 14th were what ultimately sunk the Celtics in their 103-95 loss in Game 3.
Boston stuck with Cleveland for the duration Thursday night despite a vintage performance by James and negligible contributions from Celtics leading scorer Isaiah Thomas. An Evan Turner 3-pointer pulled the C’s to within three with 2:45 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Kyrie Irving missed a jumper on the ensuing Cavaliers possession, but Thompson got his hands on the rebound and kicked it back to Irving, who found Kevin Love in the corner for an open three.
“I keep thinking about that three that Love got in the corner there,” forward Jonas Jerebko lamented after the game. “Both me and Tyler (Zeller) were going for the board — had it. They got a finger on it, and boom. It’s out to Kevin Love for an open three. That’s a big swing for us in that part of a game. Plays like that, you know, when it doesn’t go your way and you lose by eight.”
The process repeated itself two minutes later, with James taking the place of Irving and bleeding down the shot clock after Thompson corralled his miss. It ended with Love burying another corner three, this one putting the Cavs up eight with 26 seconds to play.
It was, as the kids call it these days, the dagger.
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Thompson’s dominance in this series is by no means unexpected. He was tied for fifth in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game during the regular season and was the league’s best off-the-bench big man, finishing fifth in the voting for Sixth Man of the Year.
Celtics guard Avery Bradley, in particular, knows Thompson’s game well. Both are University of Texas products, with Thompson beginning his Longhorns career one year after Bradley’s final season in Austin.
“Tristan is an energy guy,” Bradley said. “He’s been playing like that since I’ve known him. He brings — fans might not see it — but he’s the reason why they beat us the last two games, honestly to me. He’s just outworking us. We know what he’s going to do, and we’re still not stopping him from it. It’s frustrating for everyone.”
Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images
