East Conf. Finals - Game 4: Boston Celtics 102-111 Cleveland Cavaliers - 5 Talking Points
The Cleveland Cavaliers matched the Boston Celtics in this series by holding serve at home for the second game running. In the eyes of many viewers, this was supposed to be the most pivotal game of the series from the Celtics' point of view and they would have done their chances of qualification a huge favour by stealing this eminently winnable game.
The C's, however, were not able to execute with nearly the same alacrity and confidence at the Quicken Loans Arena as they have done time and again this postseason at the TD Garden. They allowed LeBron James and co to run out to an early lead of 16 points, and despite winning all three subsequent quarters, they were unable to make up the deficit.
Let's take a look at the 5 most important talking points from the game.
#5 The Cavaliers racked up a healthy first-quarter lead
Coming into this series, LeBron James was 12-0 in playoff games when his team held a lead of 15 points or more after the first quarter. With games 3 and 4 now on that particular scorecard, James' record is now 14-0 in such games.
The Cavs ran out to a 34-18 lead by the end of the first quarter largely based on the efforts of their role players, as LeBron allowed them to get into the groove and willingly dished out well-timed passes to enable this. While LeBron did have 9 points in the quarter, he only had 1 assist as everything came together for the Cavs offense.
They were also helped by some pathetic decision-making and botched plays by the Celtics, who could realistically have trailed by single digits if not for a dunk missed by Jayson Tatum and a couple of easy shots missed by Horford and Rozier.