The Cleveland Cavaliers once again showed they’re the real deal with a stunning 123-116 win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Friday. This clash between the two heavyweights in the Eastern Conference looked set to be a snoozefest when the Celtics went up 25-3 midway through the first quarter, but the Cavaliers stormed back to get a sensational statement win.
Donovan Mitchell led the way for the Cavaliers with 41 points (13-26 FG), three rebounds, five assists, and a steal. His backcourt partner Darius Garland, meanwhile, had 20 points (9-23 FG), three rebounds, and seven assists. Evan Mobley came up big too with 17 points (6-12 FG), 12 rebounds, three assists, and a block as the Cavaliers improved to 49-10.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum erupted for 46 points (19-37 FG), 16 rebounds, nine assists, and three blocks. His co-star Jaylen Brown finished with 37 points (13-24 FG), five rebounds, and two assists, but the Celtics didn’t get much from elsewhere and have now dropped to 42-18.
Let’s take a deeper look at how the Cavaliers managed to turn this around and hand the Celtics their second straight loss.
Celtics Fail To Capitalize On Their Early Advantage And Then Collapse Late
The Celtics had an opportunity to step on the Cavaliers’ throats and finish them off but failed to capitalize on their early advantage. After going up 22 points with 7:12 left in the first quarter, they allowed the Cavaliers to go on a 10-2 run and get back within striking distance.
The Celtics’ offense grinded to a halt after that red-hot start as the hosts went nearly four minutes without making a field goal after taking that 25-3 lead. Unfortunately for them, that would be a sign of things to come.
The Cavaliers were only down 10 points at the end of the half, and it should have never been that close with how well the Celtics started. The hosts seemed to have regrouped after the break as they pushed the lead to 87-70 with 8:17 left in the third quarter, but then they collapsed.
The Cavaliers went on a 53-29 run from that point as the Celtics went ice-cold on offense. They scored just 18 points in the entire fourth quarter after scoring over 35 in each of the first two. It was just a full-blown collapse in the clutch.
Donovan Mitchell And Evan Mobley Shone In The Fourth Quarter
While the Celtics floundered in the big moments, Donovan Mitchell did not. Mitchell had 12 points in the fourth quarter alone, coming close to matching the Celtics’ tally by himself.
With less than three minutes left and the score tied at 114, Mitchell went on a 5-0 run of his own to give the Cavaliers some much-needed breathing space. Garland then followed it up with another jumper to put the Celtics away for good.
While Garland hit that big shot at the end, he wasn’t necessarily Mitchell’s partner in crime in the fourth. It was Mobley who stepped up with 11 points in the quarter, and he also hauled in four critical offensive rebounds. The Celtics could not keep him off the glass, and that played a big role in the Cavaliers getting this win, too.
The Difference In Bench Production
The Celtics were without Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for this game against the Cavaliers. That led to Al Horford and Sam Hauser getting starts, which, in turn, weakened their bench.
The Celtics only got six points from their reserves, with Payton Pritchard being responsible for all of them. That’s not ideal, especially against a team like the Cavaliers. The visitors got a whole lot of production out of their bench unit, as they scored a total of 33 points.
DeAndre Hunter scored 12 of those points, while Ty Jerome had eight. The two of them outscored the Celtics bench by themselves, and when you combine that with Mitchell’s big night, you get why the Cavaliers got the win.
Would the outcome have been different had Holiday and Porzingis played? Maybe, but we’ll never know for sure. What we do know is that if these teams do face off in the playoffs, it’ll be must-watch television.
The Celtics and Cavaliers have split the season series 2-2, and they look like the best teams in the East by far. A clash in the Eastern Conference Finals is very likely, and that could end up being one of the best series we’ve seen in a while.
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