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Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

How did the Cavaliers send Boston to their fourth-straight loss?

Kyrie Irving

From the opening gun, Kyrie Irving came to play. 

The Cavaliers' star guard went off for 40 points, one shy of his career-high. He has 19 points in the first quarter on 8-of-10 shooting. Going up against a very formidable backcourt of Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley, Irving was fantastically aggressive, showing no fear. 

While the middle of the game saw him quieted slightly, when it mattered, Irving was far and away the best player on the floor. He posted 11 points in the final quarter, willing his team past the Celtics.

Boston's Late-Game Shooting Woes

The Celtics shot horrendously in the fourth quarter, dropping their full-game percentage to 38.1. 

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

This is a constant issue with the Celtics, as their older stars don't have the legs to hit jumpers late in the game. Paul Pierce in particular shot 3-of-15, and front-rimmed a few shots late in the game. 

Despite a great overall game, Rajon Rondo needed 17 shots to get his 17 points and Kevin Garnett went 5-of-13. You could visibly see Boston slowed in the final quarter, but Doc Rivers stuck with his starters, holding Jeff Green in particular to the bench.

Penetration With and Without the Ball

The Cavaliers notched 46 of their 95 points from inside the painted area. 

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

This was a result of great penetration by a lot of players. Kyrie Irving obviously led the Cavaliers in this regard, using picks from Tyler Zeller to slip into the frontcourt for layups. 

The other part of it was players moving without the ball through the lane. Showing little fear of Kevin Garnett, guys like Tristan Thompson were able to receive passes on cuts towards the rim. Thompson scored 21 points, eight of his nine baskets came from the interior.

Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

Cleveland Cavaliers' Boxscore

Boxscore courtesy of NBA.com

Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

Boston Celtics' Boxscore

Boxscore courtesy of NBA.com

Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

Cleveland Cavaliers Plus/Minus

Tristan Thompson: +9

Alonzo Gee: +8

Tyler Zeller: +5

Kyrie Irving: +11

 Dion Waiters: +8

Luke Walton: +2

Omri Casspi: -6

Shaun Livingston: -6

Daniel Gibson: -6

Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

Boston Celtics Plus/Minus

Kevin Garnett: -3

Brandon Bass: -7

Paul Pierce: -8

Rajon Rondo: -10

Avery Bradley: -5

Jared Sullinger: -4

Jeff Green: +7

Courtney Lee: +1

Jason Terry: +4

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Boston 90, Cleveland 95 - Final

The Boston Celtics drop their fourth-straight game to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Three of those four losses have come against very weak competition in Detroit, New Orleans and now Cleveland.

Kyrie Irving had a mammoth first and fourth quarter, finishing with 40 points. Tristan Thompson added 21 points and nine boards.

For Boston, Rajon Rondo held his own in a point guard duel, with 17 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but made some crucial errors at the tail-end. Kevin Garnett posted 16 points and Jared Sullinger had 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.

Stay tuned for further stats and analysis, here on Bleacher Report.

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Boston 87, Cleveland 93 - :22 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Kyrie Irving, on the other hand, has been nothing but clutch. He now has 11 points in the fourth quarter.

38 overall, has him just three away from tying his career-high. 

Speaking of career-highs, Jared Sullinger fouls out for the seventh time of his career. He leads the league in that category this season.

Boston 87, Cleveland 90 - :36 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Rajon Rondo with quite a few failures late in this game. Another near-Triple-Double will go unremembered if the Celtics don't pull this game out.

A couple crunch-time turnovers and that missed layup will be all that is taken away from a loss.

Boston 87, Cleveland 90 - :36 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

The action on the court has been great, but we've got some extra-curriculars going on in the stands at Quicken Loans Arena.

Boston 87, Cleveland 88 - 1:46 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Cleveland's Tyler Zeller fouls out, bumping Kevin Garnett. In 38 minutes, Zeller had six points and 10 rebounds. 

Luke Walton will see his crunch-time minutes.

Boston 84, Cleveland 86 - 1:56 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

What is wrong with Paul Pierce?

The Celtics star small forward is in his fourth-straight poor offensive game. He hasn't scored more than 13 points in any of the games and only has 12, on 3-of-14 shooting.

Boston 83, Cleveland 82 - 3:00 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Rajon Rondo showing that offensive aggression that the Celtics like to see. 

He has taken 16 shots, more than any Celtic. He's got a team-high 17 points, to go along with 11 rebounds and eight assists. 

Tough to declare a winner in the point guard matchup, even though Kyrie Irving has gone off for 29 points. 

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Boston 79, Cleveland 78 - 6:00 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Jared Sullinger grabs his 10th rebounding, giving him his fourth career triple-double. It is also his third in the last seven games.

Five of those ten boards have come on the offensive end. Sullinger is helping Boston out-rebound the Cavaliers 43-33 on the night. However, due to turnovers, Cleveland has taken two more shots than Boston.

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Boston 77, Cleveland 76 - 6:38 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Worth noting that since the start of the second quarter, the Celtics' defense has held Kyrie Irving to just six points on 2-of-5 shooting. That would probably be what is known as the Avery Bradley effect. 

Still, Tristan Thompson has bolstered the scoring and the Cavaliers have held the Celtics to just 41.8 percent shooting and very well could steal a victory here.

Rajon Rondo's Triple-Double Watch ups again as Rondo needs only two assists. He has 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Boston 75, Cleveland 72 - 9:08 Remaining in Fourth Quarter

Paul Pierce finally gets into double-figures scoring with a layup, giving him 10 on the night. A far cry from his 40-point explosion the last time these two teams squared off.

Boston 70, Cleveland 73 - End of Third Quarter

Courtney Lee's trey at the end of the quarter puts Boston up just three entering into the final frame.

The Celtics have gotten 25 points from their bench, to just seven from the Cleveland reserves. 

Rajon Rondo has the Triple-Double Watch in full alert with 13 points, eight assists and nine rebounds. Kevin Garnett has 12 points as well.

For Cleveland it is still all Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. Irving leads all scorers with 25 points, while Thompson is right behind him at 21.

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Boston 70, Cleveland 68 - 1:08 Remaining in Third Quarter

That was Jared Sullinger's fourth foul of the game. He has fouled out four times in January and six times total in his rookie season.

Entering the game, his 137 fouls ranked No. 6 in the NBA. 

Boston 70, Cleveland 66 - 1:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Good for Boston to see Brandon Bass get his shot off tonight. He is just 4-of-7 for eight points, But scored no points in the recent loss to Detroit.

All of his shots are coming from the free throw line area, which is where his teammates are starting to get him the ball.

Boston 67, Cleveland 61- 4:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

The Cavaliers heavily regressing this quarter, now shooting just 2-of-17 in the quarter. Their shooting percentage has been dragged down to just 41.1 now.

Dion Waiters and Tyler Zeller, the Cavaliers' two rookies, are shooting a combined 2-of-17 from the field.

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Boston 64, Cleveland 58 - 6:30 Remaining in Third Quarter

Avery Bradley finally making himself known. He had previously been silent on both offense and defense. 

Bradley buckets back-to-back corner treys to give Boston a sizable six-point lead.

Rajon Rondo is ready to get the Triple Double Watch going again, with 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

Boston 58, Cleveland 58 - 7:00 Remaining in Third Quarter

Surprisingly low scoring open to the second half, given the pace that was in the first.

Boston is taking full advantage of Anderson Varejao's absence, winning the rebounding battle 28-20. That has helped them overcome eight turnovers, while forcing only four. 

Kyrie Irving gets the Cavaliers' first points at the 8:34 mark of the quarter. He's got 25 in the game. His career-high is 41, coming in a Dec. 15 game against the New York Knicks. 

Boston 53, Cleveland 54 - : End of Second Quarter

Cleveland Cavaliers Plus/Minus

Tristan Thompson: +2

Alonzo Gee: +8

Tyler Zeller: +7

Kyrie Irving: +9

Dion Waiters: +4

Luke Walton: -7

Omri Casspi: -8

Shaun Livingston: -7

Daniel Gibson: -3

Boston 53, Cleveland 54 - : End of Second Quarter

Boston Celtics Plus/Minus

Kevin Garnett: +2

Brandon Bass: -10

Paul Pierce: -7

Rajon Rondo: -5

Avery Bradley: -3

Jared Sullinger: +5

Jeff Green: +7

Courtney Lee: +3

Jason Terry: +3

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Boston 53, Cleveland 54 - : End of Second Quarter

After one half in Cleveland the home team has a one-point lead.

Kyrie Irving has been unbelievable for the Cavaliers, scoring 23 of the team's 54 points. He is 9-of-11 from the field with three assists. Tristan Thompson must be recognized as well, going for 16 points.

Boston enters the half with three players in double-figures, led by Rajon Rondo's 13 points and five assists. Kevin Garnett and Jared Sullinger have 10 a piece, while Sullinger added eight rebounds.

Boston 53, Cleveland 52 - :31 Remaining in Second Quarter

Not even Avery Bradley is having any luck trying to cover Kyrie Irving tonight.

Bradley picked up his third foul bumping the Cleveland point guard, and is going to have to be careful in the third quarter. 

Irving made both freebies and is now up to 23 points in the half. 

This point guard matchup has not disappointed, as Rajon Rondo has 13 points, five assists and three rebounds of his own.