Celtics Cruise Past Cavs to Take 2-0 Series Lead

The Celtics defense was -- again -- the star of this game, causing another less-than-stellar outing from LeBron James.

Paul Pierce energized the Celts' offense early on at The Garden, and finished with 19 points and six rebounds before retiring to the bench. Photo courtesy: Boston Celtics

BOSTON - Ray Allen and Paul Pierce finally made their presences felt in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, helping the Celtics crush the Cleveland Cavaliers 89-73 in Game 2 on Thursday to give Boston a 2-0 series lead.

Allen didn't score his first points of the second round until just after halftime in what amounted to a six-quarter drought. With that first layup, though, the Celts' veteran sharpshooter warmed up for 11 points in the third quarter and five more in the fourth.

Pierce energized the Celts' offense early on at The Garden, and finished with 19 points and six rebounds before retiring to the bench early in what was pretty much a blowout from the second quarter. Fellow early retiree Kevin Garnett doubled up with 13 points and 12 boards.

The Celtics defense was -- again -- the star of this game, causing another less-than-stellar outing from LeBron James. Cleveland squeezed just 12 points out of the miserly C's in the second quarter, half of which came at the free throw line. "The Chosen One" ended up with 21 points, but made just six of his 24 shots from the floor as Boston continued to force James outside the paint. LeBron added six assists and five boards but, tellingly, the Cavs superstar also turned the ball over seven times.

Having held opponents to fewer than 85 points in each of their six home playoff games, the Celtics pulled even with the 1996 Chicago Bulls and the 2000 Miami Heat for the longest stretch of stinginess to open a playoff run.

Boston will look to break out of a more dubious distinction Saturday when the team tries to snap its 0-3 playoff road record at Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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