Celtics ‘kept fighting' in extraordinary win over Cavs

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CLEVELAND – Celtics coach Brad Stevens has been really good about not allowing his team or himself for that matter to make too big a deal about any one victory.

But beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-103 on their home floor with LeBron James in you-can’t-guard-me mode, well … that’s a little different than your run-of-the-mill regular season victory.

Here’s what Stevens had to say when I asked him about the importance of this particular victory and its value.

“In the big picture it does count as one, but it gives you a sense that you’re improving and getting better,” Stevens said. “For us, it would have been disappointing to lose that lead [in the fourth quarter] and not come out with the win.”

Boston fell behind 14-2 to start the game, and found itself in a uphill fight for the rest of the first half. As bad as they began play, the Celtics felt fortunate to go into the half trailing by just six points.

The Celtics got off to a fast start to the third quarter, a time when the Cavs have struggled mightily of late.

Boston’s run was good enough to put the Celtics ahead by three points, only for Cleveland to respond with a series of spurts good enough to give them an eight-point cushion going into the fourth.

The Celtics chipped away at Cleveland’s lead and eventually pulled ahead by as many as seven in the fourth quarter following two Thomas free throws with 3:19 to play.

Still, Cleveland responded with a run of its own – fueled by LeBron James - that had the Cavs ahead by five points (101-96) with 18.6 seconds to play, only for Boston to close out the game with an 8-2 run.

Beating the Cavs (35-14) at any location is a big deal.

But to do so at the Q Arena while still allowing Cleveland to score more than 100 points (the loss ended a 42-game winning streak by the Cavs at the Q Arena when they score 100 or more points) was indeed a special moment for the Celtics players.

“We want to win every single game, but games like this are fun,” said Bradley who had 14 points which included four 3-pointers. “You see the crowd out there. It was a lot of people here. It was a great atmosphere.”

For Thomas it was especially gratifying considering how nightmarish an experience he had against the Cavs in the playoffs last year.

And when the two teams met on Dec. 15, Thomas was just 3-for-12 from the field for what turned into an 89-77 loss but just as important, another bad game for him against Cleveland.

But more than anything else, Friday’s win was in many ways symbolic of what has been a mantra for this team all season long.

“We kept fighting,” Thomas said. “That’s the definition of this team. We don’t give up.”

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