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In what has the potential to be as big of a setback for the NBA's hopes as it does for Cleveland's, the Boston Celtics dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night in game 2, 104-86, tying the series at 1-1. That Boston could win at Cleveland at all, let alone easily, throws a wrench into the league's preferred matchup of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant that the NBA and many fans have wanted to see for some time in the finals.
After the Cavs failed to make last year's finals despite being the #1 seed, this year the league was clearly hopeful that MVP winner LeBron James would be showcased throughout the playoffs. All was going well up to last night: the Cavs posted the best record of the regular season; James had one of the best seasons, ever, for an individual player by many measures, and the Cavaliers had little trouble beating Chicago in the first round.
But Boston perhaps unexpectedly beat first-round opponent Miami 4-1 as well, and in game won held a double-digit lead in the third quarter. Cleveland rallied to win that game, but last night the Celtics took a 25-point lead in the 4th quarter. Rajon Rondo's amazing 19 assists were a big part of Boston's success, and James had an off night perhaps bothered by his lingering elbow problems.
With Boston up 21, the momentum changed after Paul Pierce committed a technical foul, taking down Mo Williams as he drove past. It appeared to be the one thing that would light a fire under Cleveland, and it did: minutes later, after James had scored four points and J.J. Hickman five, the lead was down to 10 with 4:30 to go, more than enough time to continue the comeback. And Boston had been held scoreless for over five minutes.
But another Boston flurry, with five points from Kevin Garnett and a beautiful driving layup by Ray Allen, put the Celtics up by 18 again with a minute to go.
So is Cleveland—and James—playing poorly, or is Boston surging? And if Cleveland manages to get past Boston, will they be able to get past Orlando, who hasn't lost a playoff game yet (and was favored by SportsRatings to make the finals)?
By our numbers, Cleveland is still favored to recover and win. The games in Boston are expected to be very close and the Cavs should be able to steal one back. But the odds are down quite a bit; originally Cleveland was a 69% favorite to win the series; now with the home court advantage on the other side, their odds are only 58%. And this doesn't take into account psychological factors which may be on the Celtics' side, or the possibility that James' difficulties continue due to his nagging injury. These factors probably make the series to toss-up at this point.
If Cleveland doesn't win a title this year it might not happen for a while. James may or may not re-sign with the Cavs next year, so Cleveland fans are sweating it out right about now. The team is in damage control mode after the loss, holding an extra practice in an attempt to turn things around.
But Boston fans are certainly smiling. And even as this turn of events has the potential to make the finals less appealing to fans and advertisers, it certainly has made this series—which some saw as a foregone conclusion—suddenly very interesting.
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