NBA scores 2017: Did the Cavaliers and Celtics just preview the Eastern Conference Finals for us?

Boston topped Cleveland in a thriller, even if the Cavaliers can offer up a couple excuses for their narrow loss.

Mar 2, 2017, 1:00 PM UTC

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Just let the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics play basketball. Who cares where or when, or what the circumstances are. If this is our Eastern Conference Final, let me be the first to adamantly declare, yes, we’ll take it, because Wednesday’s matchup between the two East juggernauts was exactly what we thought it would be.

Boston won the game 103-99, once again riding on the back of Isaiah Thomas, who scored 31 points. With 49 seconds left, he hit a triple that made the game 99-97, and after the Cavaliers tied it, he put Boston ahead for good with a pair of free throws.

New Cavalier Deron Williams had a chance to play hero with a potentially game-winning three off a filthy feed from LeBron James, but the shot was a tiny bit long and rimmed off the back iron.

Jae Crowder sealed the game at the line afterwards, giving Boston their win over the East’s top squad.

Cleveland is still integrating its new bench and appears to be adding Andrew Bogut to the mix soon, too. Kevin Love remains out, of course, which ideally wouldn’t be the case in a playoff matchup. Still, we saw enough from Boston and Cleveland for us to be sold. Give us more. Give us seven games of this.

It’s a little unsettling that the Cavaliers are still using LeBron James as much as they are during the regular season — he logged 40 minutes on Wednesday, albeit in a game that felt like it had a playoff atmosphere. Love’s return will help that, surely, and James clearly made the most of his evening with a 28-point triple-double. If we don’t get a James that rises to quite the same levels we’ve seen in the past, though, I’m worried we won’t have a better explanation than his heavy regular season toll.

But that’s a bridge to worry about if we have to cross it. In the meantime, we’ll just bask in the Eastern Conference finally providing real intrigue in this coming postseason. Maybe it’ll end up that Cleveland is a hegemon who cannot be slowed down no matter what. But it feels like this season has a small chance to surprise us — or at least, provide us with a helluva basketball series between these two teams.

New Orleans wins their first game since the DeMarcus Cousins trade ... without DeMarcus Cousins

When the Pelicans traded for Boogie, they knew one landmine they would likely have to deal with is Cousins’ technical foul tally. Cousins had picked up 17 in Sacramento, already accruing him a one-game suspension (enacted at 16) and putting him one more away from a second (at 18). No matter how successful New Orleans would be in calming Cousins down on the court, the big man was bound to pick up at least one or two.

In that regard, it’s no surprise that Cousins sat out a game on Wednesday after picking up an 18th on Sunday. It’s unfortunate it happened only four games into his Pelicans tenure, however. And it’s very unfortunate that it happened in New Orleans’ first win since the trade.

That’s not Boogie’s fault — the Pelicans played three good teams right out of the All-Star break (Dallas has been great since the start of the year), and finally got a break with Detroit on Wednesday. Jrue Holiday finally returned to form, and Dante Cunningham had the one game from a role player that New Orleans needs each night. Still, given how he left the Kings, the optics are rather unfortunate at least.