Celtics avenge defeat with 102-88 rout of Cavaliers
washington — Terry Rozier scored 20 points off the Boston bench to lead six double-figure scorers on Wednesday and the Celtics routed visiting Cleveland 102-88 in an NBA Eastern Conference showdown.
Jayson Tatum and reserve Marcus Smart each scored 15 points, Jaylen Brown added 14 points and Kyrie Irving and Al Horford each contributed 11 and nine rebounds as the East-leading Celtics improved to 31-10.
“That shows what type of team we are,” Rozier said of the Celtics’ scoring depth. “From day one we’ve always had that next man up mentality and we’ve kept it going.”
LeBron James led Cleveland with 19 points and added seven rebounds and six assists but the Cavaliers (25-13) had a season-low point total.
“Their defence was very good. They were very in tune to what we wanted to do execution-wise offensively,” James said. “They had a good defensive plan and they executed very well.”
Cavaliers big man Kevin Love injured his right ankle. He had only two points on 1-of-11 shooting.
Cleveland’s Isaiah Thomas sat out a night after making his season debut, missing more than two months with a hip injury after be- ing traded from the Celtics in the deal that sent Irving to Boston.
“I don’t know who we are and who we can be until we get it back consistently,” James said. —
Close win for Brooklyn
Philadelphia 112 San Antonio 106 Washington 121 New York 103 Houston 116 Orlando 98 Miami 111 Detroit 104 Brooklyn 98 Minnesota 97 Boston 102 Cleveland 88 Toronto 124 Chicago 115 Milwaukee 122 Indiana 101 Golden State 125 Dallas 122 Denver 134 Phoenix 111 New Orleans 108 Utah 98 Oklahoma City 133 LA Lakers 96