BOSTON – Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston's 117-104 Game 1 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
STARS
LeBron James: The league’s brightest star shined brightly when his team needed someone to set the tone. He scored 15 of his 38 points in the first quarter, in addition to dishing out seven assists to go with nine rebounds.
Kevin Love: The often-forgotten member of Cleveland’s Big Three came up big for the Cavs, hurting the Celtics with inside-outside game. He finished with 32 points on 9-for-16 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.
Jae Crowder: He was one of the few Celtics who found a way to contribute in several categories. He had 21 points on 8-for-13 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists.
STUDS
Tristan Thompson: When LeBron James and Kevin Love weren’t killing the Celtics, Thompson did a nice job of cleaning up a lot of those Cleveland misses. He finished with 20 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting night, to go with nine rebounds.
Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown: His athleticism was key to his success in Game 1, giving the Celtics 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting to go with a playoff career-high nine rebounds.
Avery Bradley: He struggled shooting the 3-ball (2-for-8), but did manage to get a lot of action cutting to the basket for lay-ups before finishing with 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting from the field.
DUDS
Isaiah Thomas: He had a double-double of 17 points and 10 assists, but Thomas failed to make the difference-making plays Boston desperately needed
Kelly Olynyk: This is why Olynyk is one of the more maddening Celtics players on the roster. After going off for a playoff career-high 26 points in Boston’s Game 7 win over Washington, he comes back on Wednesday with a two-point, 1-for-6 shooting performance that put him among the many Celtics to struggle on Wednesday.