Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 4 vs. Cavaliers

3. Celtics couldn’t recover from the first quarter

The first quarter was the tone-setter in Game 4, and it was a particularly brutal ordeal for the Boston Celtics. It was almost as if they were picking up where they left off in Game 3. They struggled to find a rhythm in the early going and the Cavaliers took advantage, outscoring them 34-18 in the first frame.

Offensively, Boston went 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from the field and 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range. Jaylen Brown went 1-for-7 from the field in the opening quarter while Marcus Smart (on four attempts), Jayson Tatum (three attempts) and Al Horford (two attempts) failed to make a basket.

Things weren’t better on the defensive end, either. Cleveland went 12-for-20 (60 percent) from the field in the first quarter and 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. The Cavs beat out Boston in the paint, 14-6.

The Celtics managed to turn things around and win the last three quarters 84-77, shooting 47.5 percent from the field over that span. Boston also shot 38.1 percent from 3-point range while holding Cleveland to 29.4 percent from outside. However, their woes in the first proved to be too much to overcome. If the Celtics want to take Game 5, they will have to remain competitive for all 48 minutes.