Jonas Jerebko: We gave Cavs ‘too much respect’ early in series

The Boston Celtics pulled off a stunner on Sunday night when they came back to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111-108 and turn the Eastern Conference Finals into a series.

What made the win so stunning? The top-seeded Celtics were blown out at home in the first two games of the series, including a record halftime deficit in Game 2. They were playing without Isaiah Thomas, who’s out for the rest of the season with a hip injury. Boston also came back from down 21 in the third quarter to win.

Jonas Jerebko was a key member off the bench in the win, as he scored 10 points in 14 minutes on 4-for-4 shooting. He was interviewed by TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew after the game and was asked what changed between the first two games and Sunday.

“I think we gave (the Cavs) a little too much respect in those first two games of,” said Jerebko. “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.”

Jerebko was getting into it with Cavs players left and right — especially with Kevin Love — so he showed an element of toughness that may have fired up his club.

Jerebko also talked about what the team did to stop LeBron James, who only scored 11 points in 45 minutes.

“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,” Jerebko said.