The Cavaliers dominated the Celtics in Game 3 Saturday night, taking a 116-86 home victory to record their first win of the series. Cleveland now stands within one game of tying the series, heading into Monday’s Game 4 down two games to one.
For Boston, a collection of young and hungry individuals built from hard work, perseverance and dedication, Saturday’s blowout loss is a rarity. The usual all-in mentality wasn’t present, nor was the concentration needed to take a win on the road.
“I feel like we needed this (loss) to get us back … to get us ready for Monday,” Celtics guard Rozier said, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
Rozier later added, “We needed to get our butts whipped. Come back to reality and take care of business on Monday.”
In 27 minutes of work, Terry Rozier added 13 points, two rebounds and two assists on 5–of-12 shooting in Game 3. The Celtics shot just 39 percent as a whole, allowing the Cavaliers to connect on 17-of-34 shots from behind-the-arc.
“We were clearly not the harder-playing, more connected team tonight,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Cleveland was, and they deserve all the credit for that. I thought they played a great game. They came out and really moved it and were really tough, got into us defensively.
Cleveland will host Boston in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals this Monday at Quicken Loans Arena. The 2018 NBA Finals are slated to tip-off on May 31.
