That was a great defensive effort last night. They needed it given how poorly they shot the ball in the first half. I hope they keep it up, especially Saturday night against the Knicks, who may be a tougher opponent than the Cavs.
Am I the only one who thought something weird was going on in the 2nd quarter last night? The refs must've gotten a call between periods because they suddenly started calling touch fouls on the Cs and letting the Cavs hack away. It was really noticeable and helped the Cavs cut into the Celts lead. I'm happy that their efforts didn't flip the leader board but it was mainly because the Cavs couldn't seem to buy a bucket for most of the 1st half.
I still think that the foul they called on Hauser (and challenged by the Cs) was not a foul. How many times have we heard an announcer say, "Yeah, there was contact but it was after blocking the ball so they allow that"? Hauser got ball and then bumped the shooter. That should have been overturned. And then the Cavs' were successful with their challenge on a Brown drive to the hoop, which looked like an offensive foul until you realize that Niang was totally in the restricted area and was not eligible to get an offensive foul. You can't be in any part of the restricted area and jump into the defender's airspace, which is exactly what Niang did. This is also probably why Brown got the technical foul afterward.