Sometimes, all it takes is one shot to place a team into the upper echelon of a conference.

That is just what might have occurred to the Boston Celtics on Friday night, as a buzzer-beating three-pointer by shooting guard Avery Bradley clinched a telling come-from-behind 104-103 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Arena for the team, currently knotted in a tie with the Atlanta Hawks for possession of the third seed in the East. 

Trailing 101-96 with nine seconds remaining in the contest after a 16-5 Cavaliers run, a potential win seemed all but out of reach for the Celtics, however, a corner three-pointer by small forward Jae Crowder off of an inbounds play provided the team with some hope. 

Cleveland point guard Kyrie Irving then made two foul shots to push the Cavaliers lead to 103-99 with seven seconds remaining, however, Boston continued to showcase their resilience on their following possession, as shooting guard Evan Turner drove past Cavaliers shooting guard J.R. Smith for an and-one finish with four seconds left. 

AP Photo/Tony Dejak
AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Despite a miss by Turner on the ensuing foul shot, Celtics point guard Marcus Smart applied pressure on Cleveland center Timofey Mozgov on the subsequent rebound, causing the monstrous Mozgov to lose control of the ball which caromed off of LeBron James and out of play with just over three ticks remaining, handing Boston one last attempt at staying alive. 

Although the play call by Celtics head coach Brad Stevens originally called for All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas to take the final shot, Thomas, double-covered in the corner, was unable to find an opening, instead tossing the rock out to Bradley who calmly collected himself, stepped back towards the corner and buried a game-winning three in the face of Cleveland shooting guard Iman Shumpert

Despite leading all scorers with 30 points, James stood helpless as the Celtics bench stormed the court following Bradley's vital conversion from deep, unable to deliver a victory after shooting 9-of-23 while accounting for seven rebounds, four assists, and six turnovers in 38 minutes. 

Smith garnered 20 points on 5-of-10 shooting from deep while Irving chipped in 19 points and six assists for the Cavaliers, who now lead the surging Toronto Raptors by just two games in the Eastern Conference. 

AP Photo/Tony Dejak
AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Power forward Kevin Love put up 10 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes of action before leaving the game in the second half with a bruised left thigh, staying in the Cleveland locker room for the majority of the fourth quarter. 

For the Celtics, Thomas lead the way with 22 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 36 minutes, while Turner recorded 19 points and a career-high 12 rebounds to accompany a stellar +11 plus-minus rating and center Tyler Zeller, emerging in the Boston rotation as of late, contributed 16 points and  four rebounds. 

Bradley also chipped in 14 points for the Celtics while center Jared Sullinger posted 12 points and seven boards as the team notched their 10th win in their last 13 games. 

Down 14-2 to start the game and 32-20 entering the second quarter, Boston stormed back into the contest with an 8-2 run to conclude the first half and a 9-2 surge to begin the second half, garnering a 54-51 lead with 9:26 remaining in the third quarter after a bucket by Sullinger. 

Cleveland then surged ahead with a 16-4 run over the ensuing six minutes of action, taking a nine-point lead, however, a 10-1 Celtics run at the start of the fourth quarter resulted in a 77-76 Boston advantage. 

This gap increased to 92-85 with 3:18 left in the contest, as the Celtics staked claim to an 11-2 run. 

However, just as they had before, the Cavaliers fought back into contention, as a tandem of three-pointers by Shumpert and Smith combined with two free throws by James gave them a 93-92 advantage with just over two minutes left, one which grew to 101-96 late in the contest after two free throws by Irving which appeared to seal the contest with 18 seconds left. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Liam OBrien
Just a Boston man who loves sports. Oh, and writing is kind of a priority.