February 7, 2016
The Celtics' practice on Saturday was changed to a video session and individual meetings after their dramatic, buzzer-beating 104-103 win Friday night over the Cavaliers — the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
Canceling practice was hardly a surprise. The Celtics exerted so much effort during their win they needed a break to reflect. Boston trailed by 4 points with just over five seconds left in the game before the improbable happened: a layup by Evan Turner, who missed a free throw that then went out of bounds off Cleveland's LeBron James, and a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer from Avery Bradley on a play that was designed for Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas was supposed to catch the inbounds pass from Jae Crowder, take a couple of dribbles, and then release a floater. That never happened. "When I caught it, I was open," Thomas said. "I thought before I caught it, I'm like, 'It's over, I'm hitting this shot.' When Tristan Thompson switched [on defense], I couldn't see the rim no more. So [I'm going to] just drive and hopefully something opens up. I seen Avery and I tried to get it to him the best way that I could. He knocked down a big shot."
Bradley added, "First of all, Isaiah made a good play. He drove to the basket and two guys were on him and he kicked it out and I was able to knock down the shot. If you play this game, you should believe you're going to win until the horn sounds off. That's what kind of team we are. It comes with maturity."
Coach Brad Stevens admitted the Cleveland game would serve as a litmus test for the Celtics, who had won seven of their previous eight games heading into Friday night but hadn't played the Cavaliers since Dec. 15. But the Celtics competed for the entire 48 minutes and even held a 92-85 fourth-quarter lead before James fueled a 16-4 run. Cleveland led by 5 points in the final minute before the Celtics rallied.
"The best team in the East, and winning in that fashion," Thomas said. "We were down in the fourth, up in the fourth. We just kept at it. [Marcus] Smart made a hell of a play on the offensive rebound [on Turner's missed free throw]. We kept fighting. That's the definition of this team and the gods gave us one."
One play that got overshadowed was a 3-pointer by Crowder with eight seconds left. It was his first made field goal in nine tries. Crowder was nursing a sprained ankle and was visibly slowed by the injury. He missed three shots in one second-half possession and pondered taking himself out of the game.
"Jae asked me in the game, 'Man, you think I should just sit out the rest of the game?' I said, 'Man, you already played half the game, you might as well finish it,' " Thomas said. "He hit a big-time shot in the fourth quarter. He's a warrior. He didn't have nothing in the tank like he said. But he just felt like being out there to help the team, and it did."
Thomas finished with 22 points on 5-for-19 shooting, but he was more effective in the second half and converted all 11 free throws. The Cavaliers contained Thomas to 33 percent shooting during the first-round playoff series last spring and 3 for 15 from the field in the Dec. 15 meeting.
"This team, they got a curse on me," he said. "For the most part I'm getting the shots I usually get. Tonight, I couldn't make anything around the basket. I just kept pushing, I knew it would open up at some point. I just tried to keep at it and keep confidence. With this team, nothing falls for me. Hopefully the next time we play them I have even a better game."
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