Final: Celtics 128, Cavs 95 -- C's cruise to biggest win of year

There was little drama about who would be in the starting five after Jaylen Brown was ruled out for the night with a sore tailbone. Still, the new-look starting group (with Aron Baynes filling in for a resting Al Horford) imposed their will against a hapless Cavs team on Friday night.

All five starters scored in double figures, led by Kyrie Irving (29 points) and the group helped turn a tie game midway through the second quarter into a laugher at the end of three periods by outscoring them on a 56-28 run midway through the 128-95 victory. Marcus Smart (12 points, 7 assists) and Marcus Morris (15 points) played their supporting roles perfectly, allowing Boston to put together their best home win of the season.

C's get back to work quickly with a back-to-back on Saturday night in Minnesota. 

 

First Half Notes

• Some nice energy from the new-look starting five to open up the game with a 9-2 run. Smart got into the act with a steal while the offense was pushing the pace and getting easy buckets.


• Things slowed down a little bit when Marcus Morris and Tatum got into some iso ball midway through the frame, allowing the Cavs to fight back a little bit.


• Tristan Thompson remains a huge pain in the neck of the C's no matter who they line up against him. He piled up a double-double in the first half (13 points, 12 rebounds) which including five offensive rebounds. If his contract wasn't so big, he'd be a hot commodity on the trade market.


• Jordan Clarkson loves to get shots up and light up the C's in stages. Boston did a better job on him against other quicker guards.


• C's getting themselves into the penalty far too much in the first half, allowing the Cavs to pile up 21 first half free throws, which helped keep Cleveland in the game despite shooting 40 percent from field.


• Interesting rotation choice by Stevens to go with Guerschon Yabusele for regular mintues over Semi Ojeleye and Robert Williams. Yabusele knocked down a 3 but he added to the foul woes. Not sure you can justify playing him over that duo right now.


• Gordon Hayward took Kyrie's advice about being more aggressive with his shot to heart by looking to shot first on his catches (4/6 FG).


• Kyrie Irving had a field day against Colin Sexton on the offensive end, getting whatever he wants from inside and out, knocking down his first five shots on the way to 19 points before the break on 7/9 FG.


• C's offense was in rhythm (54 percent) but still not enough trips to the charity stripe (six) to turn the game into a laugher.

• Jaylen Brown (sore tailbone) and Al Horford (rest) will get the night off on the front half of Boston's back-to-back. Horford is expected to play on Saturday night in Minnesota, while Brown appears doubtful for that matchup.


• This will be the first game for the C's in four days and starts one of their quietest stretches of the year with just three contests over 11 days.


• New Cavs addition Alec Burks is expected to make his debut for Cleveland tonight after being acquired in a deal for Kyle Korver on Wednesday.


• J.R. Smith remains away from the Cavs after requesting a trade a couple weeks back. Former Celtic Ante Zizic has been receiving regular minutes off the bench for Cavs interim coach Larry Drew.