Jarrett Allen had his work cut out for him on Thursday night, as the big man was tasked with shutting down two of the best big men in the league.
In the end, the Boston Celtics were able to use Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and the rest of the team well and pushed past Allen and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Following the game, Allen spoke to Bally Sports Cleveland about how his team fought hard and closed the gap but ultimately came up short.
He said that the Cavaliers came out strong in the second half but couldn’t compete against the homecourt advantage and aggression of the Celtics.
Jarrett Allen said the Cavs were more aggressive in the second half, but couldn't quite get over the hump against Boston.
He's looking forward to returning to Cleveland after this 4-game road trip and wants to keep improving and taking it "one step at a time." #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/9MyPLgLQg5
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) December 15, 2023
Allen said that the Cavaliers were successful at attacking the rim and finding open shots, which led to them shrinking Boston’s big lead.
But that wasn’t enough, as Boston continually had control of the game and also found a lot of success with second-chance points.
Those second-chance opportunities are directly related to Allen because he is part of Cleveland’s frontcourt and is therefore in charge of getting rebounds before Boston does.
But on Thursday, the Celtics made it too hard.
Of course, the Cavaliers were without their other starting big man, Evan Mobley, who was on the bench because of a knee injury.
That put even more pressure on Allen, who tried his best but wasn’t able to slow Boston down.
Allen told the press that he is ready to return to Cleveland after this very long and draining four-game road trip that featured three losses in a row.
He claimed that the team is adamant about continually improving and taking things “one step at a time.”
He is ready for the Cavaliers to bounce back and the fans are too.
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