Recap: Kevin Love Drops 30, Cavs Stun Celtics 102-94, Seal Their Play-In Fate
David Richard | USA Today Sports
The Celtics traveled to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers who lost 11 straight going into this one. A fourth-quarter push by the Cavs ended up securing them the victory, 102-94.
Kevin Love led the charge for Cleveland, scoring a season-high 30 points and 14 rebounds. Love had only scored 20+ points once this season before tonight. He shot 6-9 (66.7%) from three on the night, marking only the second time he’s made six or more threes this year. Collin Sexton (28) and Isaac Okoro (15) also put in solid shifts in the scoring column.
Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart, and Robert Williams were all out for this game, in addition to Jaylen Brown who has been ruled out for the year. Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, but only shot 1-6 from deep. Evan Fournier (PTS), Payton Pritchard (PTS), and Tristan Thompson (PTS) were the only other Celtics to crack double digits.
The game remained close up until the fourth quarter. Cleveland went on a massive 20-4 run which ultimately sealed Boston’s fate. The Cavaliers shot 70.6% from the field and 62.5% from three in the fourth quarter, while the Celtics shot 32.1% from the field and 35% from deep.
With the loss, the Celtics are officially going to be playing in the play-in tournament. They fell to 35-35 on the season and can mathematically finish anywhere from the 7-9 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Boston will finish out their season this weekend with back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. The first of those two games will be vs the Minnesota Timberwolves in Minnesota. The tip-off time is TBD, but the game will be streamed on NBC Sports Boston.
