National Basketball Association

Celtics crash Cavs' house party

Published May. 4, 2010 8:48 a.m. ET

foxsports

The amount of wine and gold confetti on the Quicken Loans Arena court after Game 1 said at least this much: Saturday night comeback wins make for great parties.

Monday night, the old guys in green played the role of party pooper. And the neighborhood was very, very quiet.

These Celtics aren't done yet.

Save for six minutes in a too-little, too-late comeback attempt, Cavaliers-Celtics Game 2 involved the Cavaliers in title only. A Boston team thought to be on its last leg showed that leg is pretty sturdy. Rajon Rondo literally ran circles around the Cavaliers, and this time he had help from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The Celtics played the type of aggressive basketball not only that Coach Doc Rivers asked of them, but also that a playoff-tested and desperate team should play.

Now, desperation and despair hit the talk shows in Cleveland as a fan base that feels it's forever cursed sees home-court advantage gone.

LeBron James said after Monday night's 104-86 loss that he won't panic and that there's a lot of basketball left — and he's right — but it's hard to explain how the Cavaliers lacked pretty much everything with a chance to really seize control of the series.

"They kicked our behinds from the beginning," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

That's not all Brown said. He bemoaned his team's lack of fight (until it was down 25) and was direct in saying that point guard Mo Williams, who shot 1 of 9, has to be better.

Just about all the Cavaliers have to be better than they were in what became a 31-12 third quarter in favor of the victors. For the game, the Cavaliers shot a miserable 40 percent from the floor and a very un-championship like 26 of 38 from the line.

There were spurts — Antawn Jamison started well, and their second-quarter attack mode got the Celtics in foul trouble — but even James, who formally accepted his MVP trophy before the game, had his struggles. He didn't shoot much in the first half, didn't make many until that fourth-quarter run that trimmed the lead from 25 to 10, and never really got the chance to take over. He finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Rondo, who tied a Celtics playoff record with 19 assists in addition to scoring 13, was the guy who took over. Allen scored 22 and hit 3 times from beyond the arc. Pierce got 14 points, and Kevin Garnett had another big game with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Celtics also got
17 points (on 3-of-4 shooting beyond the arc) from Rasheed Wallace, who's suddenly not only still alive but also still productive.

The Cavaliers got some energy and 13 points from J.J. Hickson, and Jamison finished with 16. But Garnett scored on Jamison pretty much when he wanted to, Shaquille O'Neal's 6 missed shots were all from close range, and the Cavaliers gave up 21 second-chance points. The Cavaliers were 4 of 21 on 3-point tries and were outrebounded 43-32. Not a winning combo.

Each team heading to Boston with one win means not only that Friday night's Game 3 becomes must-see TV, but it also means that the Cavaliers' momentum is gone. James said not to worry about the team's confidence, but until his help (at both ends) comes a little more consistently it would be hard not to.

"It's a long series," James said.

Apparently so. Brown said he and his staff would be back to work instantly despite having four days until playing again. They'll have to find a way to be much better on defense while also doing a better job of putting the ball in the hole. This confidence boost might work wonders for the Celtics, as Rivers said the biggest adjustment they made was just doing what they'd planned to do in Game 1. That list includes clogging the lane on James, getting Allen going and matching the Cavaliers' intensity and physicality.

The Celtics have now thoroughly dominated five of the eight quarters in the series; in Game 1, though, the Cavaliers showed they're capable of winning despite playing only about 18 good minutes.

Monday night, the Celtics showed they're pretty capable, too. This is going to be fun.

For more Cavaliers coverage, check out FOXSports Ohio and Zac Jackson's blog.