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Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 1 Live Updates, Score and Highlights for 2018 NBA Playoffs
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics
Boston, MA
The Boston Celtics dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-83 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Final series on Sunday. Boston jumped out to an 18-point lead after one quarter behind a fantastic defensive effort. The Celtics continued to build their lead until early in the third quarter, when a Cavaliers run closed the gap. However, Boston tightened up its defense once again to quickly widen the gap from 14 to 29 points. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum all scored between 16 and 23 points, while the Celtics held LeBron James to a mere 15 points with seven turnovers.
Well that was unexpected -- maybe not for the Celtics. Boston absolutely demolished the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday, and will look to take a 2-0 lead in Tuesday's Game 2.
Cleveland dealt with chaos throughout the regular season -- including unloading half of its roster at the trade deadline -- while Boston had injuries to the two players expected to lead them through the East. Where LeBron James is still playing like LeBron James, the Celtics have found heroics from unexpected places throughout these playoffs, specifically rookie Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics and the Cavaliers survived the Bucks and the Pacers -- respectively -- with both of those first-round series going to seven games. They then steamrolled their Conference Semifinal match-ups, with the Celtics halting The Process in just five games and the Cavaliers banishing the Raptors (again) in a sweep.
Here's what you need to know about these teams going into the Eastern Conference Finals.
No. 2 Boston Celtics vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
How to watch Game 2
Date: Tuesday, May 15
Tuesday, May 15 Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
8:30 p.m. ET Location: TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts
TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts TV: ESPN
ESPN Live stream: WatchESPN.com or WatchESPN app
Recap of live updates
Playoff series schedule
Game 1 in Boston: Celtics 108, Cavaliers 83
Game 2 in Boston: Tuesday, May 15, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 3 in Cleveland: Saturday, May 19, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 4 in Cleveland: Monday, May 21, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 5* in Boston: Wednesday, May 23, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 6* in Cleveland: Friday, May 25, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 7* in Boston: Sunday, May 27, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
* -- if necessary
Regular-season series: Cleveland 2-1
Last season's playoff results: Celtics eliminated by Cavaliers in Conference Finals 4-1, Cavaliers lost to Warriors in NBA Finals 4-1
Injury Report: Celtics G Shane Larkin out indefinitely (shoulder), Celtics G Kyrie Irving out for the season (knee), Celtics F Gordon Hayward out for season (ankle/leg), Celtics C Daniel Theis out for season (knee)
Celtics' projected starting lineup: G Terry Rozier; G Jaylen Brown; F Jayson Tatum; F Marcus Morris C Al Horford
Warriors' projected starting lineup: G George Hill; G JR Smith; F Kyle Korver; F LeBron James; F Kevin Love
Celtics win if ...
They can do anything to limit LeBron James and his teammates shoot like they did in the first round. If the Cavaliers shoot like they did against the Raptors, there's not much that you can do, but if you force the Cavalier offense to through James and take away his passing lanes, you have a chance. Brad Stevens is the best coach in this series and probably in the NBA, but James' adaptability in real-time can limit that edge. If Rozier, Brown and Tatum shoot well in this series and Horford can put his body on somebody inside, the Celtics can pull off what would feel like an upset, two-seed or not. They're banged up, but they've survived this long.
Cavaliers win if ...
LeBron James. Obviously, "Cavaliers win if LeBron James" isn't really a sentence, but at this point it may as well be. The player closest to James in total points is James Harden. Harden has 285 points to James' 377. This team lives and dies with James, plain and simple, but he can't do it alone. Korver, Love and Smith's open looks need to fall, and the Cavaliers bench needs to pick up the slack. No matter who's on the floor, James will be facilitating -- his 99 assists are second this postseason only to the eliminated Pelicans' Rajon Rondo -- but the Cavaliers need to help James out, because if someone gets cold, the Celtics can exploit it.
SportsLine projections
According to SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh, the Cavaliers have a 75.0 percent chance of winning the series. SportsLine will have game-by-game gambling advice for every playoff series here.
2018 NBA Playoff Bracket
The Celtics left no doubt on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden. They aren't just another opponent for the Cavs to walk past on the way to the NBA Finals.
Boston came out firing in Game 1, securing a 61-35 halftime lead and ultimately winning 108-83. Jaylen Brown (23 points, eight rebounds), Marcus Morris (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Al Horford (20 points, six assists) all played major roles in the victory, and the Celtics shot over 50 percent from the field as a team.
The Cavs had an abysmal shooting night, finishing 4-of-26 from 3-point range. LeBron James was limited to 15 points (5-of-16 from the field), and he turned the ball over seven times. Cleveland will need a better all-around effort in Game 2 if it wants to avoid a 2-0 hole.
You can check out the stats and best highlights from Game 1 below...
Final: Celtics 108, Cavs 83
5:44 p.m. ET — The benches have emptied. This one is over. Only waiting for the final buzzer now.
5:33 p.m. ET — An 18-4 run by Boston has turned TD Garden into party central. Celtics 96, Cavs 68 with 7:09 remaining. Not pretty.
5:24 p.m. ET — So, about that deficit... The Celtics sprint out to a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter, and they're back up 21 points. That was fast.
Jayson Tatum powers his way in for two!@celtics begin the 4th on a 7-0 run on #NBAonABC#CUsRise 85 | #WhateverItTakes 64 pic.twitter.com/99IngmEx5x — NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2018
End of third quarter: Celtics 78, Cavs 64
5:20 p.m. ET — The Cavs cut the deficit in half with a 29-point third quarter, nearly matching heir first half output. The Celtics settled for a few jumpers in the third, allowing Cleveland to at least keep Boston within reach. It's been a rough shooting game for LeBron James, but he has been attacking the basket harder in the second half.
5:06 p.m. ET — Al Horford is doing serious work: 18 points, six assists, four rebounds and two blocks midway through the third quarter. The Celtics are still up 20.
4:58 p.m. ET — The Cavs are now 0-of-14 on 3-pointers after shooting over 40 percent over the course of the entire series against the Raptors. Some of those shots have ben open, but this Boston defense is flying around the floor.
Halftime: Celtics 61, Cavs 35
4:40 p.m. ET — Wow. The first half was simply a blowout. The Celtics shot over 60 percent from the field, while the Cavs hit 31.9 percent of their attempts, including 0-of-12 from beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown leads all scorers with 18 points, and Al Horford has 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting. LeBron James has seven points and seven assists, but Boston can live with that if Cleveland's shooters are missing.
Brown gets it done on both ends! pic.twitter.com/gxOfXATUwm — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 13, 2018
4:29 p.m. ET — The Celtics' starters are outscoring the Cavs' first unit 43-11. That's... a big difference.
Al Horford leads the break and finds Morris for the fast-break bucket! pic.twitter.com/3n8P5xaqIm — Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 13, 2018
4:19 p.m. ET — Rodney Hood is showing some aggression, which is a welcome sight for Cavs fans. He's got five points in his first five minutes.
End of first quarter: Celtics 36, Cavs 18
4:10 p.m. ET — What an opening frame from the Celtics. They just dominated the Cavs in the first 12 minutes, holding Cleveland to 33.3 percent shooting and hitting on 61.9 percent of their own shots. The Cavs have a lot of work to do if they want to keep this from getting out of hand.
4:00 p.m. ET — The Celtics use a 17-2 run to build a huge advantage in the first quarter. The Cavs are down 16 and can't seem to find the bottom of the net (3-of-13 from the field, 0-of-5 from 3-point range). Al Horford, on the other hand, is doing just fine.
3:53 p.m. ET — At the first timeout break, the Celtics lead by four points. They are finding good opportunities offensively, and they aren't waiting if there is an opening.
3:44 p.m. ET — And here we go. Your early matchups: George Hill-Terry Rozier, Kyle Korver-Jaylen Brown, JR Smith-Jayson Tatum, LeBron James-Marcus Morris and Kevin Love-Al Horford.
3:34 p.m. ET — LeBron James has score nearly 1,000 playoff points against the Celtics. Is that good?
In 34 career postseason games against the Celtics, @KingJames has scored 979 points, the most EVER by a single player against one team in the playoffs. 👀 #StriveForGreatness🚀 #WhateverItTakes pic.twitter.com/PvMHyqZIQ1 — Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 13, 2018
3:23 p.m. ET — Starting lineup change! The Celtics will go with Marcus Morris over Aron Baynes. Not much of a surprise with Morris likely to match up with LeBron James.
3:05 p.m. ET — Jayson Tatum hasn't looked much like a rookie so far in these playoffs. Let's see how he handles his first conference finals series.
