BOSTON – The Boston Celtics lost their final preseason game at the TD Garden 102-95 to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
It was not a pretty game for the Celtics (1-2) as they struggled for long stretches at both ends of the floor.
Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Tuesday’s game.
STARS
Kevin Love: The Cavs lone All-Star, much of Cleveland’s offense in the first half went through Love who either made plays for himself or opened things up for teammates. He would finish with 17 points in 17 minutes.
STUDS
Jaylen Brown: This was one of those games in which Brown was solid at both ends of the floor, something you couldn’t really say for most of his Celtics teammates. Brown finished with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting in just 14 minutes.
Cedi Osman: Like Kevin Love, Osman made the most of his limited minutes on Tuesday. Playing just 19 minutes, he tallied a near double-double with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Marcus Morris: Every game thus far in the preseason, Morris has made his presence felt as a scorer off the bench. On Tuesday he had 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field.
Collin Sexton: The rookie point guard can take quite a few positives away from his first NBA game. He came off the Cavs bench and scored 15 points and maybe more important for Cleveland, seemed very comfortable running the offense.
Marcus Smart: He plays big minutes because of his defense, but on Tuesday it was Smart’s offense that was impressive. He led the Celtics with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting in a game-high 26 minutes.
Jordan Clarkson: For as long as he has been in the NBA, Clarkson has had an instant-offense kind of game. That was on display Tuesday night as he came off the bench to score 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting in just 16 minutes.
DUDS
Terry Rozier: Stepping into the starting lineup with Kyrie Irving (rest) out, Rozier never took over the way we have seen him do in the past when an opportunity to play big minutes presented itself. He had just six points on 2-for-7 shooting with three rebounds in 20 minutes – tops among all Celtics players to start on Tuesday.
Celtics defense: It wasn’t so much the points scored or the Cavaliers’ shooting. More than anything, Boston seemed a step slow on rotations, often out of position on rebounds and by and large, unable to make an impact in any meaningful manner on defense which should be their strength this season.