It's just that when they all started to pressure each other with high-intensity double-teaming, Irving wasn't able to respond to Little Thomas on the other side.
Jokic's stamina dropped in the final quarter, and he had a hard time performing against the twin towers of Towns and Horford.
After four quarters, the Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 114 to 108 to win the season opener.
Hansen scored 41 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, Jokic had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, Irving underperformed with just 14 points and 4 assists.
Little Thomas performed excellently with 31 points and 5 assists, Durant with 30 points and 6 rebounds, Towns with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Horford with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
The Cavaliers' ring night ended in defeat, but Malone didn't take it to heart during the post-game press conference:
"Kyrie just didn't have the touch tonight; the most important thing for us is that we've developed new team tactics."
