Celtics at Cavaliers
THE STORY: Two nights after the Cavaliers Kyrie Irving beat the Boston Celtics in the game’s final seconds, the two teams will have a rematch Tuesday in Cleveland. The ending to the first game was good enough to warrant a sequel. Irving split two defenders and flipped in a left-handed shot with 2.6 seconds left to become the third-youngest player in the NBA to make a game winner since the start of the 2002-03 season, according to STATS LLC. A game winner is defined as the final point of the game with three seconds or less remaining. Irving is quickly developing the reputation of a clutch player, scoring a total of 25 points in the fourth quarters of the Cavaliers’ last two games. “I thought he dominated the fourth quarter,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. Boston was three seconds away from a five-game winning streak and a winning record, but all of that is lost for now. The Celtics’ Rajon Rondo is expected to miss Tuesday’s game with his wrist injury, while Jermaine O’Neal’s knee will again render him a game-time decision.
TV: 7 p.m., CS New England (Boston), FS Ohio (Cleveland)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (9-10): Paul Pierce grumbled about his lack of playing time Sunday, but couldn’t hide from his 13 turnovers in Boston’s last two games. With Rondo out, the Celtics are running more sets through Pierce and Rivers said his star is trying to do too much. Pierce wasn’t happy with playing only the final 3:42 of the fourth quarter Sunday and let it be known. “Maybe I should play a little more,” Pierce said.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (8-11): Daniel Gibson remained hospitalized in Boston on Monday and Anthony Parker has already been ruled out with a stiff lower back, leaving the Cavaliers incredibly thin at shooting guard. Gibson has a soft tissue infection in his neck and is being treated with antibiotics, leaving Scott to choose between undrafted rookie Mychel Thompson, reserve small forward Alonzo Gee or backup point guard Ramon Sessions as his starting shooting guard Tuesday.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Cavaliers coach Byron Scott has been relentless on Irving, the top overall pick last summer, telling the 19-year-old rookie all season his breath smells like Similac, the baby formula.
2. Thompson had played a total of two minutes all season before injuries forced Scott to play him for the entire fourth quarter Sunday. He had four points, two rebounds and a big steal in the game’s final minutes.
3. With 21,694 points, Pierce is 98 away from passing Larry Bird for second place on the Celtics’ all-time scoring list. John Havlicek (26,395) is No. 1.