NBA: Celtics crack late, as young Cavaliers run rampant

Former number one overall draft pick Kyrie Irving and his batchmate Tristan Thompson were just too much to handle for the slumping Boston Celtics, as Irving's Cleveland Cavaliers caught fire late for a 95-90 win, Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time) at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. 

 

The 20-year-old Irving and the 21-year-old Thompson were both selected in the top five of the 2011 NBA Draft, and the duo made their mark in this game, combining 61 of their side's 95 points to improve the Cavs' record to 11-32. 

[Related: Grizzlies cut payroll, send players to Cavaliers]

 

Boston on the other hand has been mired in a slump as of late, dropping their last four to fall below the .500 mark at 20-21. 

 

Following nine lead changes and nine ties in the first half, Boston went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 64-58 lead, courtesy of back-to-back triples by Avery Bradley. 

 

Another triple, this time by Jeff Green, and a Brandon Bass jumper, gave the Celtics their largest advantage of the game, 70-63, with 3:16 to play, but Alonzo Gee and Thompson were there to forge a 70-all tie, before Courtney Lee canned a triple to put Boston ahead with a quarter remaining. 

 

A reverse lay-up by Irving put the Cavaliers ahead for good with 2:31 left to play, 84-83. An and-one play by the former Duke Blue Devil stretched that into a two-possession lead with 22.8 ticks remaining, and after Paul Pierce missed a triple out of a timeout, Irving added two more charities, to seal the deal. 

 

Irving went 16-of-24 from the field en route to his 40 points, while also adding three rebounds, five assists and two steals. Thompson was similarly impressive, hitting half of his 18 attempts for his 21 points, in addition to nine rebounds, five dimes, an assist and a steal. 

 

Alonzo Gee was the only other Cav in double-figures, tallying 10. 

 

Rajon Rondo came up two assists shy of a triple-double, compiling 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but he was just 7-of-17 from the field and committed five turnovers. Kevin Garnett added 16 points, while Paul Pierce and Jared Sullinges each scored 12. 

 

Boston's offense was once again miserable, as the team converted just 38.1 percent of their attempts. They also conceded 46 points in the paint, while scoring just 28 in that statistic. - AMD, GMA News