Kevin Love showed the way as expected as the Cleveland Cavaliers went on an early surge and coasted to a 102-95 victory over the Celtics on Tuesday in NBA preseason play in Boston (Wednesday, Manila time).
New Cavs leader Love scored 17 points in 17 minutes for Cleveland, which scored the game’s first four points and never looked back, leading 32-19 after the first quarter.
Love made 5 of 10 field goal attempts including 2 of 3 from beyond the arc in the team’s preseason opener.
Collin Sexton came off the bench to deliver 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting.
Fil-Am guard Jordan Clarkson had 12 points and three assists in 16 minutes of play, while David Nwaba also had 12 points.
Bench players led Boston, with Marcus Smart scoring 15 and Marcus Morris delivering 14 points.
Jaylen Brown was the only Celtics starter to score in double figures with 10 as Kyrie Irving sat out.
Meantime, Joe Ingles celebrated his 31st birthday in style, leading the Utah Jazz to a 105-90 win over the Toronto Raptors in pre-season.
Ingles shot a scorching 8-of-15 from the field, including 5-of-11 from the three-point line, adding four assists and two rebounds on the night.
Ingles did the bulk of his damage in the second quarter, going on a personal 10-4 run to drag the Jazz back into the game after the Raptors took an early double-digit lead. He went into the half-time break with 16 points.
The Raptors sat their starters in the second half, allowing the Jazz to run away with the game. They opened the third period on a 29-5 run and the Raptors never recovered.
On a positive note for Toronto, Kawhi Leonard was again solid, scoring 17 points in the first half in just 18 minutes of action. Jonas Valanciunas added 17 points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
Utah is now 2-0 in pre-season as they now shift their focus to Saturday’s clash agianst Ingles’ hometown Adelaide 36ers from Australia’s NBL.
