RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Celtics pride and Bulls defense gave Boston its first road win this season.
|  | | Antoine Walker scored 28 points as the Celtics took advantage of the Cavs' lethargy. |
Antoine Walker scored 28 points and ex-Bull Randy Brown led
Boston's defensive charge as the Celtics rolled to an 87-72 victory
Tuesday night over the Cavaliers, who scored just four points in
the second quarter.
Paul Pierce added 20 points as the Celtics snapped a 10-game losing streak at Gund Arena and handed the Cavs their first loss at
home in seven games this season.
"Our half-court defense in the second quarter was amazing," said Brown, who during five seasons in Chicago learned how to shut teams down alongside Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. "Everybody
was helping out. They missed some shots, but we got our hands on a lot of balls."
Boston outscored Cleveland 29-4 in the second quarter when the
Cavs shot just 2-for-19 from the floor and looked more like the
worst team in the NBA than the league's most surprising squad
through the season's first month.
Cleveland didn't score in the final 6:44 of the period with
things getting so bad that at one point, 7-foot-3 center Zydrunas
Ilgauskas grabbed a rebound underneath and clanged a putback dunk.
Boston's defense was aggressive, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Cleveland just couldn't make any shots. The Cavs missed
3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, layups and nearly everything else
they put up. However, they didn't miss a free throw -- they didn't
try one.
"We were brain-locked out there," said Cavs coach Randy Wittman. "We didn't remember plays. We didn't execute. Some guys went out there not ready to play. They tried to find a place to hide instead of being aggressive."
Brown, signed as a free agent during the off-season partly for his defensive intensity, was activated before the game after being sidelined since Nov. 11 with a strained stomach muscle.
It didn't take him long to make his presence felt. Assigned to take Cavs point guard Andre Miller out of his game, that's exactly what Brown did.
"Once Randy came in the game, he brought that championship Bulls defense with him, that set the tone," said teammate Eric Williams.
So Randy, was that the way the Bulls did it?
"I would like to say so," Brown said.
Chris Gatling's jumper and a driving layup by Robert Traylor
were the only points in the quarter for the Cavs, who set a new
franchise record for the fewest points in a period.
They did manage to avoid the NBA's dubious record for fewest
points in a quarter. That mark still belongs to the Dallas
Mavericks, who scored just two in the third quarter against the Los
Angeles Lakers on April 6, 1997.
"I didn't even notice it until we walked off the court at halftime," said Celtics coach Rick Pitino. "I knew we played excellent defense. You don't expect to do that to a team at this level."
The Cavs didn't score again until Miller hit a jumper with 9:46
remaining in the third quarter -- snapping an 8:58 scoring drought --
and earning the team a sarcastic ovation from its fans.
"No excuses," said Clarence Weatherspoon. "We took a whipping. Boston was ready. We were not."
Williams scored 12 of his 14 points on 3-pointers for the
Celtics, who came in 0-4 on the road this season and hadn't won in
Cleveland since April 4, 1995.
Boston didn't exactly light it up from the field, either. The
Celtics shot just 43 percent from the outside but made 9 of 21
3-pointers.
"We did it on defense," Walker said, "and we were unselfish
on offense. This is a huge win for us. Hopefully, it's a stepping
stone."
Trailing 27-20 after one, the Celtics scored the first nine
points of the second quarter but couldn't have imagined the run
they were about to go on. With the scored tied at 31-all, Williams
made consecutive 3-pointers as the Celtics ripped off 18 straight
points to close the half.
Game notes
The league mark for the fewest points in a second quarter is three, set by the Los Angeles Clippers last season. ... Pitino, one of the league's most talkative coaches on and off the floor, was begging officials for a call in the second quarter when a fan said, "For God's sake Rick, you sound like Al Gore." Smiling, Pitino countered: "I don't mean to." ... The Cavs activated G Wesley Person before the game and place C/F J.R. Reid on the injured list. ... Cleveland's previous low for points in a quarter was five at Chicago on Dec. 15, 1990.
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NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 102
Washington 75
Boston 87
Cleveland 72
Milwaukee 102
Miami 101
Utah 98
New Jersey 92
Dallas 107
Toronto 93
Minnesota 96
Chicago 76
Sacramento 88
Houston 81
Seattle 105
Portland 93
LA Lakers 124
Indiana 107
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