Despite getting punked in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics were quite confident heading into Game 2. Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas said that the Cavs weren’t the “Mon-Stars,” and rookie Jaylen Brown called LeBron James just “another guy.” And while the Celtics could clearly talk the talk, they definitely cannot walk the walk as the Cavs just absolutely dominated Boston in the first half of Game 2 on Friday.
Dominant is actually putting it mildly. The Cavs, in essence, destroyed the Celtics in the first half, heading into halftime up 72-31.
That’s not a typo, readers.
Cleveland was up by 41 points at the half in a playoff game. A playoff game that is part of a series where the winner advances to the NBA Finals.
Unsurprisingly, Cleveland’s 41-point halftime lead is the largest in NBA playoff history. The previous high is from 1987, when the Detroit Pistons led the then-Washington Bullets by 40 points.
That truly puts the Cavs’ first half performance against the Celtics into perspective since the last time a team led by that many points, the Wizards were called the Bullets.
- Cleveland shot 59.1 percent and 45.5 percent from three.
- The Cavs hit 10 three-pointers.
- Just three of the Cavs scored in double-digits but eight of the nine players that played, scored.
- Cleveland forced Boston into 10 turnovers, which led to 14 points for the Cavs.
- The Cavs had 16 fastbreak points while the Celtics had zero.
- The Cavs held the Celtics to 26.8 percent shooting and 21.4 percent from three.
- The Celtics never led in the first half and haven’t had a lead in the entire series so far.
Unfortunately for the Celtics, this isn’t a rec league game, so there is no mercy rule. They just have to play the final 24 minutes and hope that the game doesn’t get any more out of hand, which is an understatement to say the least.
