Celtics Star Puts NBA On Notice After Huge Win: ‘This Is Not Our Peak’
The Boston Celtics faced one of their toughest tests of the young season on Wednesday, and they aced it.
The Celtics hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had the best record in the Eastern Conference last year and are current betting favorites to win the East. They came to Boston on a three-game winning streak and were favored to win.
Meanwhile, the Celtics are still figuring things out as they integrate new players and try to find their new identity after a painful offseason. They’d lost three of their first four games and were home underdogs against the Cavaliers.
However, that didn’t stop them from upsetting one of the best teams in basketball. Boston dominated Cleveland for most of the game, pulling away late in the second quarter and cruising to a surprisingly easy 125-105 blowout win.
The Celtics looked like the Celtics of old, shooting the lights out in the first half and playing tenacious defense throughout. They even outrebounded the Cavaliers 52-42 despite being at a clear size disadvantage in the frontcourt.
Boston was relentless, focused and aggressive, showing the type of qualities that could allow Joe Mazzulla’s squad to exceed expectations this year.
While it was a huge win for the Celtics, Jaylen Brown said after the game that they still have room to grow and haven’t hit their stride yet.
“We’re super early in that stage. Like, great win tonight, but this is not our peak. We got a long way to go, and I’m looking forward to getting there,” Brown said during his postgame press conference following his 30-point performance.
Coming off back-to-back wins, Boston will look to keep rolling on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Celtics by one point in their season opener last week. Boston will try to avenge that loss and win its first game of the NBA Cup group stage.