BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are once again following a troubling script in the second round of the playoffs.
Boston opened its first-round series against Miami with a dominating Game 1 win and followed it up with a lackluster effort in Game 2.
That pattern repeated itself during the Celtics’ 118-94 Game 2 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Almost everything Boston did well in a 25-point victory in Game 1 – knock down 3-pointers, defend and rebound — was flipped by the Cavaliers in Game 2.
The Cavs held advantages in 3-point shooting (plus-15 points), points in the paint (60-34), rebounds (44-31) and even fast-break points (14-8).
Most troubling, though, was the Celtics’ performance from beyond the arc.
Boston went 8 of 35 from the 3-point line (22.9%), including 2 of 18 in the second half. Cleveland finished 13 of 28 (46.4%). Teams are now 103-6 this season when holding a plus-20 percentage points advantage from 3.
“I think it was just a bad game,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight. But defensively that was unacceptable. … So we didn’t help ourselves tonight.”