Cleveland Cavaliers will look for expanding their winning line on eight games on Friday night as they visit Boston Celtics in a matchup between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland leads Boston with 6.5 matches, but has lost two of the three meetings against Celtics this season. Boston prevailed at home 120-117 on November 19 and at Cleveland 112-105 on February 4.
“We play well,” said Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson. “Now the real test is Boston. We’ll see if we can keep our standards high, go in there and get a profit.”
Atkinson said he does not plan to use a vanilla game plan in an attempt to keep things hidden about Celtics and Cavaliers meet in the playoffs.
“We still have to prove that we can beat them – beat them in their place,” he said. “I think we go in there kind of weapons a flaming. We have to go for the victory, what it takes. Throw everything out there and then after that game we will take a little to adopt what we can do in the playoffs, but we will not hold anything back.”
Boston’s winning line with six matches ended with Wednesday’s road loss 117-97 to Detroit Pistons. It was the fifth time Celtics failed to score at least 100 points this season. Celtics made 12 2-point field goals in the loss, which is the smallest 2-point field goals that the team has done in a game during the history of the franchise.
Boston was without Jaylen Brown (left thigh contusion) and Luke Kornet (personal reasons) against the pistons. Brown is the team’s number 2 points (22.9 points per match) and the barley is on average 5.2 points and 17.2 minutes per competition.
Jayson Tatum said that because Celtics last season’s NBA championship, they must be at their best – or close to it – every game if they expect to win.
“In recent years we have all got really good shots,” he said. “Now, on a nightly basis, we get everyone’s best shot. We are like the standard … and it is with any NBA champion next year. They are the standard and the guys try to get what they have.
“We are doing a really good job of answering, and I don’t doubt we will do that Friday night.”
De’andre Hunter shoots 50 percent from the field and an average of 14 points per match in six matches since Cavaliers acquired him from the hawks.
“He doesn’t just try to fit in,” said Atkinson. “He has really entered our team with violence and kind of forced his will at both ends. Sometimes after a trade, as I said, guys just want to fit in. They don’t want to step on any tear. He has just hit the right balance at both ends.”
Darius Garland has missed Cleveland’s last two matches with a left hip contusion.
Garland is on average 21.3 points and 6.7 assists in 30.1 minutes per match.
The Friday game will start a seven-game home for Boston. Celtics has an 18-10 record at home this season but is 24-7 on the road.
“We will be home for a while,” Tatum said. “Come back to defend our home ground, get some victories and just play well in front of our home crowd. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
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