Written by Jesse Lamovsky

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In a battle between the callow Cavaliers and the battle-scared Celtics, it was the young guys that stepped at the end-and the old guys that cracked. Kyrie Irving capped a furious fourth-quarter rally with an acrobatic lay-up with 2.6 seconds to go as Cleveland went into Boston and flat-out stole one from the C’s, 88-87, in front of a stunned crowd at the TD Garden. The upset improves the Cavaliers to 8-11 on the season; better than I anticipated, for sure.

Save the Best for First: For the moment, let’s skip over the first forty-four minutes or so and get to the comeback. With 4:25 remaining the Celtics held an 87-76 lead. It had not been a good second half for Cleveland; the hot-shooting Bostonians had outscored the Cavaliers 44-32 after intermission and the Wine & Gold were in a deep freeze offensively, having shot a bare 25 percent since the midway point of the third period. It appeared that the Cavaliers were on their way to a second consecutive loss, despite a largely solid effort on the road.

That’s when Cleveland stepped up- and Boston unaccountably folded. Getting it started for the Cavaliers was- who else- Kyrie Irving. The youngster dropped in a jumper to cut the deficit to nine, and after a missed three-pointer by Sasha Pavlovic (yes, Sasha Pavlovic) knocked in a pair of free throws to make it 87-80 with 3:42 to play.

At this point Boston’s old guard began to make key mistakes. Paul Pierce threw away one possession with a turnover and Ray Allen nullified another with a miss on a wide-open layup attempt. Irving then found Anderson Varejao all alone under the hoop and the Brazilian’s layup made it 87-82 with 2:15 left. Pierce missed a jumper and it was Varejao again, rebounding Pierce’s miss and driving for a score to make it 87-84 with 1:38 left.

Pierce had another chance fifteen seconds later but couldn’t convert on a drive. Alonzo Gee, who had a terrific night, rebounded his own miss, was fouled and swished two free throws to bring the Cavaliers to within a point with 1:04 left. Allen missed again; Kevin Garnett grabbed the offensive rebound but was whistled for steps, giving the ball back to the Cavaliers with 42.5 seconds left and a chance to grab the lead.

The next sequence belonged to Anderson Varejao. The energetic veteran made two sensational plays, first grabbing the offensive board off Irving’s miss and then digging out the ball from a gaggle of Celtics after Antawn Jamison missed a three-pointer. Varejao’s subsequent timeout gave Cleveland a third chance to go out in front with 23.2 seconds to play.

As it turned out, the third time was the charm. Irving dribbled the clock down and then made his move. Getting a screen from Varejao, the rookie spun through Avery Bradley and Brandon Bass and rolled in the go-ahead layup with 2.6 remaining. Pierce’s final shot came after the buzzer and missed anyway and the Cavaliers, amazingly, had pulled off the upset.

Beautifully Ugly: The story of Boston’s eleventh-hour collapse was written in the numbers. In the final four-plus minutes, as their eleven-point lead slipped away, the Celtics went 0-of-5 from the field and committed three turnovers. It was a somewhat shocking loss of control and composure from a veteran team that has seen just about every situation the NBA has to offer. More shocking, the blunders came courtesy of the most seasoned, decorated Celtics. Ray Allen blew an easy layup; Pierce missed two shots and committed a turnover, while Garnett was called for travelling to give the Cavaliers the opportunity to go out in front.

Kyrie’s Contribution: Young Mr. Irving followed up his fourth-quarter tour de force in the losing effort against New Jersey with another brilliant effort in the win at Boston. The final line for the rookie: 23 points on 10-of-14 from the field, 2-of-3 from the line and 1-of-2 from three-point land with six assists, four rebounds, a steal and three turnovers in 33 minutes. And of course, there was the game-winner, the first of Kyrie’s career. In a game featuring three likely future Hall-of-Famers in Pierce, Allen and Garnett, the kid was the best player on the floor. And he did it with his dad, former Boston University star Dederick Irving, in the stands.

White-Hot: Two nights after hitting 8-of-9 in the fourth quarter of the loss to New Jersey, Irving drilled his first six attempts, giving him a streak of fourteen makes in fifteen tries. I’ll take 93 percent from the field from a guard, even if it’s only for a relatively short stretch.

Wild Thing, Winning Player: Anderson Varejao might have been the second-best, for that matter. Playing 31 action-packed minutes, Varejao put in a season-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting and hauled down nine rebounds with two assists and two steals. He also contributed four points, four rebounds and a steal to Cleveland’s rally in the final four minutes.

I know there’s been a lot of talk about trading Varejao for a draft pick as part of the rebuilding process, but if I were Chris Grant I wouldn’t make a deal unless I was overwhelmed. He may not be the most skilled player in the world, but the things Varejao does well- defense, hustle plays, saving possessions- are tough to replace. The guy is a winner, and at 29 he’s still young enough to contribute to a good Cavaliers team if they get it turned around quickly enough.

Golly Gee, What a Night: Alonzo Gee’s performance off the bench was critical to Cleveland’s victory. The third-year man from Alabama shot just 3-of-7 but got to the foul line frequently with his aggressive play, and hit 8-of-9 from the stripe to bring his final point total to 14. He also had four steals. Gee provided the second-biggest highlight of the night (behind Kyrie’s game-winner) early in the final period when he went baseline and hammered home a reverse jam in Garnett’s face. The play epitomized the effort of the Cavaliers, who played with toughness and character all evening.

Big Ups to the Big Three: With Rajon Rondo missing his sixth consecutive game with an elbow injury suffered against Toronto a week-and-a-half ago, it fell to Boston’s troika of three-decade stars to keep their team’s four-game winning streak alive- and they nearly delivered. 36-year old Ray Allen poured in 22 on 9-of-14 shooting with four three-pointers; 34-year old Paul Pierce tallied 18 on 8-of-12 shooting, and 35-year old Kevin Garnett shot 5-of-10 on the way to 14 points and seven rebounds. It was the play of the Big Three that put Boston in command late- but they also accounted for the lion’s share of the mistakes that aided Cleveland’s last-ditch rally.

A Pair of Runs: Up until the last four minutes it appeared that the Cavaliers would be done in by a pair of second-half Celtic runs. The first came midway through the third period, when a Cleveland cold spell and a Boston hot streak turned a one-point barnburner into a 69-58 Celtic lead. The 11-1 spurt ended a tightly played twenty-minute span in which neither team led by more than three. The second run came in the fourth when, after Gee’s spectacular reverse slam brought the Cavaliers to within three, Boston ripped off eight straight points to take a seemingly comfortable 82-71 lead with 6:10 remaining.

Nice Numbers: Despite yielding a 52.2 percent shooting night from their hosts, the Cavaliers for the most part won the statistical battle as well as the battle on the scoreboard. They out-rebounded the Celtics 37-33, made 17-of-20 from the line to Boston’s 10-of-14, committed 13 turnovers to Boston’s 16, outscored the Celtics 54-32 in the paint and scored 15 fast-break points to two for the creaky-legged boys in green. When you shoot more free throws and commit fewer turnovers than your opponent you’ve got a chance to win, even on a hostile floor.

Unusual Numbers: Typically the last place a young team learns how to win is on the road, yet the Cavaliers have done their best work away from the friendly confines of the Q. Thus far Cleveland is 3-4 at home and a respectable 5-7 on the road, with the win at Boston and admirable efforts in defeat at Indiana, at Los Angeles and at Miami.

Ugly Numbers: Tristan Thompson’s line- 17 minutes, three points on 1-of-6 shooting with four rebounds and two blocked shots. I like the kid’s athleticism and his defensive ability, but right now he is an absolute train-wreck on the offensive end. He doesn’t shoot as much as he simply throws the ball at the basket. To put it nicely, he’s a work in progress.  

He Broke His Cherry: Congratulations are in order for Mychel Thompson. The undrafted rookie from Pepperdine and the son of longtime NBA center Mychal Thompson scored his first four career points, bottoming out two key jumpers in the fourth quarter.

Next: Tuesday night at 7:00 PM, when these same Boston Celtics invade Quicken Loans Arena for the second leg of the in-season home-and-home. The pair against Boston inaugurates a rough stretch for the Cavaliers, who face Orlando, Dallas, Miami and the L.A. Clippers in the next week-and-a-half.