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Athens, OH – WHAT. A. BALLGAME. After Boston (45-21) played in a double overtime game Sunday night against the Knicks, they had to fly to Cleveland and play in another overtime thriller against the Cavs (41-26). Because of the short turnaround time for Boston, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford rested and Robert Williams remained out with a hamstring injury. And while it didn’t seem to matter for the majority of the game, Cleveland came up big when they needed to late in the fourth quarter and overtime to beat the shorthanded Celtics.
First Half:
To start the game, Cleveland came out a little flat, struggling to score from anyone other than Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell. While it seems almost routine for Mitchell to have a big game whenever the Cavs need it, Evan Mobley’s newfound aggression needs to be talked about more. Against a depleted Boston frontcourt, Mobley was attacking the basket almost every time he got the ball. His early aggression led to a game-high 11 first-quarter points and seven rebounds. This was especially necessary because Jarrett Allen accumulated a pair of fouls in the first four minutes, which forced head coach JB Bickerstaff to put him on the bench for the rest of the first quarter.
The issue was that even with Mobley and Mitchell combining for 20 first-quarter points, the rest of the team only managed six. And on top of that, Boston’s bench was playing extremely well. Malcolm Brogdon, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser combined for 16 points off the bench in the first quarter, including a trio of threes. Meanwhile, Cleveland’s bench produced zero points on five shots. Between Boston’s reserves balling out and Jaylen Brown leading the charge for the starters, Boston was able to jump out to a 33-26 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better for Cleveland. While Cleveland’s bench finally scored some points with 12 as a unit in the second quarter, Boston’s reserves were leaps and bounds better on both sides of the ball. But the biggest disparity was in the scoring department, as the Celtic’s bench outscored their starters in the first half, with Grant Williams providing a massive boost in the second quarter. After scoring only four baskets total since the all-star break, Williams went 4/4 from three in the second quarter alone.
Couple Boston’s scorching hot shooting with the fact that Mobley and Allen both had two fouls after the first quarter, Cleveland looked completely lost on defense for long stretches in the second quarter. And if it wasn’t for Donovan Mitchell hitting big three after big three, there was a chance Cleveland could be looking at a 20-point deficit at the half against a Celtics team who was without their best player. But because of Mitchell, the Cavs were only down 68-56 going into the halftime break.
Second Half:
Cleveland’s intensity definitely seemed to pick up after halftime. The Cavaliers had back-to-back buckets and stops to start the second half, forcing Boston’s head coach Joe Mazzulla to call an early timeout. After that timeout, however, Boston got back to work. The Celtics were able to move the ball extremely well against the best defense in the NBA, and they were doing it without two of their best shooters and their best rim-running big. This was especially true when the bench came in, as Brogdon and company just took turns going at Cedi Osman on defense, and it resulted in a basket every single time.
The other thing worth mentioning during the third was that every time the Cavs seemed to get some sort of momentum on offense, the defense just wasn’t able to stop the Celtics from moving the ball beautifully and finding the best shot in each and every possession. Even when their shots weren’t falling, they were out-hustling Cleveland, leading to a plethora of second chances for Boston. Things like this won’t fly come playoff time, especially when the Celtics get back to full strength. After another quarter of immaculate offense from Boston and some lost possessions for Cleveland, they were able to add to their halftime lead, going into the fourth with a 92-78 lead and plenty of momentum.
The fourth was a little bit like the third in the way it started off. Cleveland rattled off a 6-0 run, forcing Mazzulla to use another early quarter timeout. A big reason Cleveland was able to stay in the game was the play of Lamar Stevens, whose defense and offensive rebounding provided a massive spark for the Cavs off the bench. Stevens had all six of his offensive rebounds in the second half and overtime, with a few huge ones down the stretch. Without Stevens, the Cavs lose this game.
After Boston stretched their lead back out to 12 following a Brogdon three, coach Bickerstaff called a timeout. Whatever he said in that timeout clearly worked, as Cleveland would go on a massive 13-3 run behind a couple of clutch threes from Darius Garland, whose shot wasn’t really there throughout the first three quarters. That huge run cut Boston’s lead to just 102-100, and Cleveland found themselves back in the game for the first time since the first quarter, and in position to seize their first lead since the first as well.
After an away-from-the-ball foul, which is a technical foul this season, Donovan Mitchell was sent to the line to shoot the technical free throw: money. And since it was a technical foul, Cleveland got possession afterward as well. The possession seemed to be over after Mitchell missed a stepback jumper, but Lamar Stevens snatched the offensive rebound and threw it back to Mitchell, who was able to draw a foul and make two more free throws.
After Donovan Mitchell and Jaylen Brown traded a few buckets with a minute left, Mitchell gave Cleveland the lead on a floater with 24 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Jaylen Brown drove to the hoop and passed it out to Derrick White who let it fly from deep, and it bounced off the front of the rim and spun in. Mitchell then drove down the court and drew a shooting foul, and proceeded to make both free throws. On the last play of the 109-109 game, Payton Pritchard drove the length of the court and shot a layup, missed it, but Grant Williams was able to tip it back to the basket, miss the shot, but Lamar Stevens fouled him on the putback with .8 seconds remaining. This gave Williams two chances to win the game for Boston.
After Mitchell said a few words to Grant before he shot his free throws, he proceeded to miss both of them, and the game went into overtime for the third time this season between the Cavs and Celtics. And while overtime was hectic, it definitely wasn’t nearly as hectic as the end of regulation. Donovan Mitchell and Lamar Stevens (!) willed the Cavs to victory in overtime with a score of 118-114, and now Cleveland will hold any tiebreaker scenario if Boston experiences a fall from grace from the two seed the Cavs are looking up at.
Notable Player Performances:
Boston Celtics:
Jaylen Brown: 32 points (12/26, 1/7 from three), 13 rebounds, and 9 assists
Malcolm Brogdon: 24 points (8/14, 3/6 from three), 5 assists, and 4 rebounds
Marcus Smart: 11 points (4/17, 3/11 from three), 5 assists, and 2 steals
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Donovan Mitchell: 40 points (14/34, 4/11 from three), 11 rebounds, and 4 assists
Evan Mobley: 25 points (10/14, 1/4 from three), 16 rebounds, and 3 blocks
Darius Garland: 17 points (6/18, 2/7 from three), 12 assists, and 5 rebounds
Honorable Mention Lamar Stevens: 8 points (3/5, 1/2 from three), and 8 rebounds with 6 offensive rebounds
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