Boston Celtics Team Report - November 27

(Basketball News) - The Boston Celtics were handed their third consecutive loss on Friday night, as the Cleveland Cavaliers posted a 98-96 win at the FleetCenter.

Drew Gooden had 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds to lead the Cavs.

A LeBron James hoop with four minutes left in the third quarter put the Cavaliers up 75-67. But Boston reeled off 16 straight points spanning the third and fourth quarters to go up by eight. A Delonte West dunk one minute into the fourth quarter capped the spurt that put Boston up 83-75. West, Boston’s first round draft pick who was making his first appearance of the season after being out with a broken right thumb, fueled the run with seven points.

But Cleveland clawed back. a 9-2 run pulled the Cavs within one, at 85-84 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation. Finally, two free throws by Jeff McInnis with 1:31 left in the fourth quarter knotted the game at 94 apiece.

A James hoop put the Cavaliers up 96-94 with a minute remaining, but Gary Payton hit a scoop shot with 40 seconds left to tie it again.

James assisted on the game-winning shot by Ilgauskas, who hit a jumper from the left elbow with 31 seconds left to put Cleveland back on top at 98-96 from the left elbow.

Boston had a chance to tie it in the waning seconds, but Paul Pierce took the inbound pass and attempted a fade-away jumper from the foul line that James blocked to seal the Cleveland victory.

Pierce had 25 to lead Boston, which lost for the fifth time in six tries. Mark Blount added 19 points, while Payton had 14 points and 10 assists in a losing effort.

The Celtics will take to the road for Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat. It will be the first meeting of the season between the teams, which split four matchups last season. Boston has won seven of its last 12 contests with the Heat.