East Conf. Finals - Game 4: Boston Celtics 102-111 Cleveland Cavaliers - 5 Talking Points

The Cleveland Cavaliers matched the Boston Celtics in this series by holding serve at home for the second game running. In the eyes of many viewers, this was supposed to be the most pivotal game of the series from the Celtics' point of view and they would have done their chances of qualification a huge favour by stealing this eminently winnable game.

The C's, however, were not able to execute with nearly the same alacrity and confidence at the Quicken Loans Arena as they have done time and again this postseason at the TD Garden. They allowed LeBron James and co to run out to an early lead of 16 points, and despite winning all three subsequent quarters, they were unable to make up the deficit.

Let's take a look at the 5 most important talking points from the game.

#5 The Cavaliers racked up a healthy first-quarter lead

Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers - Game Four

Coming into this series, LeBron James was 12-0 in playoff games when his team held a lead of 15 points or more after the first quarter. With games 3 and 4 now on that particular scorecard, James' record is now 14-0 in such games.

The Cavs ran out to a 34-18 lead by the end of the first quarter largely based on the efforts of their role players, as LeBron allowed them to get into the groove and willingly dished out well-timed passes to enable this. While LeBron did have 9 points in the quarter, he only had 1 assist as everything came together for the Cavs offense.

They were also helped by some pathetic decision-making and botched plays by the Celtics, who could realistically have trailed by single digits if not for a dunk missed by Jayson Tatum and a couple of easy shots missed by Horford and Rozier.

#4 Foul troubles and substandard refereeing

Marcus Morris was among the players in foul trouble

Unlike Games 1 and 2, which were much better games in terms of officiating as well as the flow of the game, Game 4 turned out to be an eventful one from the officiating standpoint. The Celtics have good reason to be aggrieved with some of the foul calls given on them, none more so than the offensive foul called on Marcus Morris right at the start of the 3rd quarter.

That foul was Morris' fourth personal, and given the fact that he was James' primary defender on the night, this put him in big trouble. He picked up his fifth foul shortly after that one and did not have the time to get into any kind of game rhythm. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown finished the game with 5 fouls each as well.

Kevin Love and Kyle Korver were also on the edge for much of the fourth quarter with 5 fouls, and that impacted the Cavaliers' ability to defend to the best of their ability in the final period.

#3 The battle for boards was decisive

Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers - Game Four

Brad Stevens may have missed a trick by not playing Aron Baynes in the starting lineup today. The Australian big man has been an important role player, glue guy and has anchored the paint for the Celtics impeccably throughout the season. When Tyronn Lue turned to Tristan Thompson for the second successive occasion in Game 3 and it paid dividends for them, Stevens should have taken the cue to push Baynes into the starting lineup.

As things transpired, the Cavs outrebounded the Celtics 47-37. Tristan Thompson had his third double-double of the postseason with 13 points and 12 rebounds in addition to 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. Kevin Love himself had 11 rebounds, and the two of them combined to hold Horford to 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

The Celtics' lone active All-Star did have 15 points, but his inability to rebound effectively on the defensive end was a source of points for TT. His 7 rebounds in 41 minutes were matched by Baynes' 7 in 16 minutes - 5 of them coming on the offensive glass.

#2 Celtics' youngsters were unable to turn the game around

Jaylen Brown attempts a layup

Game 4 was another reminder of the Celtics' youth, and how green their players really are with regards to playoff basketball. Sophomore Jaylen Brown had 25 points on the night, but he got them off 23 shots while being able to attempt only 3 free throws. His performance was marred by the 5 personal fouls he accrued by the end, while he was blocked 4 times through the game - 3 of them were by 37-year-old Kyle Korver.

Jayson Tatum had 17 points, but he was inefficient in getting to that total as he shot 5-of-13 from the field (38.5%) and had only 1 unsuccessful 3-point shot. He missed a dunk attempt early in the first quarter and seemed deflated by that moment for a while. The Cavs played physical defense on him, and he has to cope with it better than he did.

Terry Rozier was the most impressive of the trio, compiling a performance with 16 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. His +/- of +3 in a 9-point loss for the Celtics says much about his impact on the game, as he had another game without a turnover.

All-in-all, however, the Celtics were thwarted in their attempt to go 3-1 up in the series because of a certain player we'll talk about in the next slide (Hint: It's not a tough guess)

#1 LeBron James is still the Beast of the East

Boston Celtics v Cleveland Cavaliers - Game Four

The last time I checked,

The King was still the best in the business of putting the ball into a hoop. While the box scores may not show the same, his performances in Games 3 and 4 have arguably been better than the masterclasses that we've all been witness to in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Game 4 had LeBron scoring 44 points, although he grabbed a below-LeBron-average 5 rebounds and had a well-below-LeBron-average 3 assists for the entire game. Like in Game 3, LeBron acted as the ultimate bail-out for the Cavs offense which was clicking for the most part.

He took only 28 shots to reach this points total, and he did so with the ease that only he is capable of displaying in the entire world. If he continues to command basketball games like this, this series is headed south fast for the Celtics.

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