Final: Cavs 113, Celtics 102 -- Smart ejected while Cavs crush Celtics again

Marcus Smart was ejected in the first quarter after a scuffle with J.R. Smith, which overshadowed the C's second straight ugly loss to the Cavs in Cleveland, dropping the contest 113-102.

Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier both had a team-high 17 points in the preseason finale in what amounted to yet another rough shooting night for the visitors (39 percent from field, 24 percent from 3-point range). Jaylen Brown (4-of-13) and Jayson Tatum (3-of-9) both struggled again with their offense while Gordon Hayward (back) and Kyrie Irving (ribs) sat this one out. 

The Cavs spent the majority of the first half leading by double digits thanks to the stellar play of rookie Colin Sexton (13 points in 19 minutes). Former Celtic Ante Zizic added a game-high 20 points off the bench for the Cavs, who improved to 2-0 overall.

The Celtics finish their preseason slate with a 1-3 record. They will have nine days off before their regular season opener against the Sixers on next Tuesday at the TD Garden.

FIRST HALF NOTES

• This was not the response that Brad Stevens was looking for in wake of an ugly performance against the Cavs on Tuesday night at the Garden. Marcus Smart was ejected in the first quarter after a scuffle with J.R. Smith and things did not get much better from there early on.


• The Cavs are without their starting frontcourt of Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love and have still been able to do almost everything they want on the offensive end over the first 24 minutes. Colin Sexton has a game-high 13 points, while Larry Nance Jr. has added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting.


• The biggest problem for Boston on the defensive end yet again has been the fouling. Cleveland went to the line 15 times in the first half, piling up fouls against Jaylen Brown and Aron Baynes (three each).


• Offensively, things have not been in rhythm for the C's either. Jaylen Brown (2-of-10) and Jayson Tatum (2-of-7) remain marred in preseason slumps, which has helped the Cavs lead by as many as 19. Rozier (4-of-12) has been inconsistent as well in front of his home.


• With Smart thrown out of the game early, Brad Wanamaker has seen some minutes with the bench unit, but he's struggled with three turnovers.


• Marcus Morris has had a team-high 12 points off the bench thus far.

• Kyrie Irving will not play in the preseason finale after dealing with sore ribs following a hard week of practice. "It was earlier in the week, but progressively just getting hit in that same spot boxing people out," Irving said on Thursday. "So I’ll just have some treatment over the next few days." Brad Stevens doesn't expect it to be a long-term concern.


• Gordon Hayward will also get his first game off of the preseason due to a sore back. Despite his subpar numbers, Brad Stevens is pleased with what he's seen from the wing so far over the first two weeks of camp. he had a little bit of a lower back, just kind of a nagging thing. He should be ready to go early next week or whenever. It’s a transition in how those guys have played thus far. We’ve tried to make it a little bit -- we re-added some things that will be familiar for our guys that are back and that will help. But, again, I think that, inevitably, when you’re out for a year, there’s going to be a transition."


• Stevens is eager to see how the team responds in the rematch after a home drubbing at the hand of the Cavs on Tuesday night. "We need to defend harder and better," Stevens admitted. "And we need to really continue to improve our reads on the offensive end of the floor. Those are the two things that I’ll be looking at close. Obviously we’ll be down some bodies so I’m a lot more concerned about how we play possession-to-possession than the result tomorrow night."


• This will be the final game of the Celtics preseason. The team will have two days off on Sunday and Monday before returning to the Auerbach Center for a week's worth of preparation ahead of the regular season opener against the Sixers.