The Boston Celtics stunned the basketball world on Sunday when they pulled off an improbable win on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference Finals series. Despite playing without their best player, Isaiah Thomas, and down 0-2, the C's had their best game of the matchup, which was capped off by a game-winning three-pointer from Avery Bradley.
When asked what made them steal the game on the road, Jonas Jerebko admitted, via Larry Brown of Larry Brown Sports, that they gave their opponents too much respect in Games 1 and 2. He then added that he feels he and his teammates did not play hard in those matches, which resulted to blowout losses.
“I think we gave (the Cavs) a little too much respect in those first two games of. We’re out there to compete, and I don’t think we competed that hard in those first two games. I just wanted to come out there and play aggressive and play with some attitude. And obviously it felt good to knock down some shots, too.”
The 30-year-old Swedish international also discussed how they changed their defensive approach on LeBron James, who they held to only 11 points on the night.
“We tried to make him shoot some jumpshots contested. Not letting him get to the rim, and just play physical. I think we did a good job of it, and we’re going to try and do the same thing next game too.”
The Boston faithful are hoping their win in Game 3 will be the start of an improbable run for them, and have enough belief that they can still advance to the NBA Finals to compete for the title. However, they should not get ahead of themselves and focus on one game at a time, as they still have a deficit to overcome against the defending champions.
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