Cavs Hammered by Big Three-less Celtics
With Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen on the bench, one would likely assume that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have rolled the Boston Celtics over on Wednesday night.
Instead, the Celtics’ bench took it to the Cavs in a 98-82 win, which was sparked by a quick start by Boston. The Celtics held a 10-point lead over the Cavs after just one quarter (32-22).
League MVP LeBron James led the Cavs with 18 points, center Shaquille O’Neal added 16, and PF Anderson Varejao chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds of his own.
“At the end of the day, it’s a preseason game and you don’t want to look too far into it,” said James. “We did want to play better, but we know can get better. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be on top of our game the first game. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for us to get to how we’re going to play for a whole season. Let’s not let the first game determine our season, either.”
While James sounded less-than-pleased with the Cavs’ collective effort on Wednesday night, his newest teammate seemed to be enjoying his time on the court much more.
“Oh, it’s perfect. It’s a close-knit group,” O’Neal said. “I look forward to a fabulous season.”
The Cavs have a chance to avenge this loss to Boston quickly, as they open the regular season with the Celtics on Tuesday.
