Cleveland Cavaliers’ future shines bright in 117-110 win over Boston Celtics – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Take a good look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ future. It was on full display against the Boston Celtics Wednesday night, taking down a surging playoff team with a pair of All-Stars.

The Cavs snapped their four-game losing skid, beating the Celtics, 117-110, in their first game following a dreadful, non-competitive 0-3 road trip.

Boston entered the night having won five of seven games. Its two All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shined in the second half, combining for 45 of their 57 points. But the Cavs withstood the onslaught and fought back, not succumbing to adversity this time.

Collin Sexton. Darius Garland. Isaac Okoro. Larry Nance Jr. Jarrett Allen. That’s the 20th starting lineup used this season and the core of the team moving forward. The quintet combined for 94 of the team’s points Wednesday night.

Sexton, the success barometer, led the way with 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting, 2-of-5 from 3-point range and 7-of-7 from the foul line, his best performance since the All-Star break halted his — and the team’s — momentum. Garland tied his career high, scoring 25 points to go with six assists and four rebounds. The oft-criticized backcourt nearly matched the total output from Tatum and Brown.

“They stayed poised,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of Sexton and Garland. “They never got sped up, they never got frustrated, they kept their composure, they thought the game tonight. They read what the defense was doing and then they made the right plays from there.”

Nance started in place of injured Kevin Love once again. Nance recorded a double-double, tying his season high with 18 points to go with 10 rebounds. Rookie Isaac Okoro also reached double figures, pouring in 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, putting an exclamation point on his big night with a thunderous breakaway dunk over Tatum late. Allen chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds in 33 minutes.

With around two minutes left, as the Celtics were putting pressure on the Cavs, Garland collected a defensive rebound and flung a pass ahead to a streaking Okoro. The rookie soared to the basket, threw it down and flexed. It was one of the highlights of his maligned first season. That gave the Cavs a needed cushion, pushing the lead back to nine points.

“That was the backbreaker right there,” Garland said. “Got the crowd on their feet. Got us on our feet. We knew it was game after that. Just had to get a couple more stops and it was over with.”

That’s the kind of play fans should get used to as Okoro continues to make positive strides on offense and Garland has risen in his sophomore season.

Wednesday felt like a sign of things to come.

“What it comes down to for us is belief and confidence,” Bickerstaff said. “As we talk about growing and all those things, it’s all nice, but the results at the end of the day are going to give guys confidence and belief. So giving guys the belief that they can is the most important thing that we need moving forward.”

Matthew Dellavedova getting closer

Dellavedova was back on the bench supporting his teammates Wednesday night. And he’s been moving better following an appendectomy. Dellavedova, who has yet to play this season, first dealing with a severe concussion, has cleared the league’s concussion protocol. He is making progress and Bickerstaff expects him back “sooner rather than later.” A source told cleveland.com that Dellavedova is aiming to practice Saturday.

Delayed return

Tristan Thompson was supposed to make his first appearance in Cleveland since signing with the Celtics as an unrestricted free agent this offseason. But he was ruled out of Tuesday night’s showdown against the Utah Jazz because of the league’s health and safety protocols and then inactive again Wednesday. The Celtics are scheduled to make one more visit to Cleveland on May 12.

Up next

The Cavs will continue their homestand on Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.