The Boston Celtics earned a big 112-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, and Derrick White had 20, helping Boston defeat the top team in the Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 31 points, and Garland scored 25. The Cavaliers were without Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, and Luke Travers, while the Celtics were fully healthy. The Boston Celtics improved to 36-15, and Cleveland fell to 40-10.
The Boston Celtics Hot Start
Both meetings between these teams were close, with the Boston Celtics winning their first game and Cleveland winning the second. This third matchup got off to a fast start, but both teams struggled to make shots. They were moving quickly and firing, but nothing was going in. The Celtics started the game 3-of-15 and the Cavaliers 2-of-15. Jaylen Brown was the biggest scorer early, getting Boston’s first 12 points. Mitchell scored with posterizing dunks and three-pointers, as he always seems to do against Boston. But the Celtics built a double-digit lead with strong defense. At the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 28-15.
The Boston Celtics extended their lead to 20 off a few Tatum buckets. Tatum heated up from beyond the arc, and Luke Kornet was a rebounding force. But the Cavaliers fought back despite their poor shooting. Garland and Ty Jerome were getting to the basket, but the Celtics went cold. Cleveland went on a 6-0 run, and they trimmed the deficit to 13. Sam Merrill hit a pair of three-pointers, and they went on a 12-4 run. A Brown buzzer-beater gave the Boston Celtics a 54-44 lead heading into halftime.
All in all, it was a good first half from the Boston Celtics, but their 20-point lead was brought down significantly. Brown led with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but the rest of the starters were inefficient. Tatum had 10 points but was shooting 2-of-11. White shot 1-of-7, Jrue Holiday was 0-of-4, and Kristaps Porzingis was 2-of-9. The Cavaliers had their lowest-scoring half of the season. They shot a poor 30% and 16.7% from three. Mitchell had 13 points, and Jarrett Allen had 10. The Celtics had a lead, but Cleveland was bound to heat up, so it was still anyone’s ballgame.
A Close Second Half
Mitchell always plays well against the Boston Celtics, and that continued in the third quarter. He and Garland made efforts to cut into the lead. Porzingis was ice cold for Boston, but they maintained their lead with buckets from White and Tatum. Cleveland’s defense tightened up, and they brought it to a six-point game. They forced the Celtics into tough shots and began to roll on offense, going on a 9-2 run. Allen was dominant on the glass and in the paint. But Porzingis finally got going,g and Boston went on a 7-0 run. This helped the Boston Celtics go back up by double digits. Through three quarters, they held an 87-75 lead. But it was far from over.
Many of the Boston Celtics recent losses have come in fourth-quarter collapses. White and Georges Niang traded three-pointers to start. Both teams went back and forth, with Boston going up by 15 before Cleveland cut it to 11. An Allen and one brought it down to nine. The Cavaliers went on 12-2, and Mitchell was hot again. He got a midrange jumper and an and-one to fall, making it a four-point game with five and a half minutes remaining. It was setting up for another game where the Celtics couldn’t score down the stretch,h and Mitchell stuck the dagger in.
White got a midrange and two deep threes to go, but Mitchell and Garland answered. Still, White’s huge shots and Porzingis free throws gave the Celtics a nine-point lead. Cleveland had to hurry, and Garland gave them hope with a spectacular four-point play. The Cavaliers then got a chance after a Boston turnover, but a bad pass forced them to foul with 22 seconds left. The Boston Celtics avoided any late-game shenanigans from there and earned a 112-105 win.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 36-15 with the win. Tatum led with 22 points and 7 assists, but White was the hero down the stretch. He had 20 points, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter. Brown had 16 points, going scoreless in the second half. Despite big shots from Mitchell and Garland, the Celtics maintained their composure and defensive integrity, earning a huge win.
The Cavaliers dropped to 40-10 with the loss. Mitchell had 31 points, and Garland had 25. Evan Mobley had a quiet game with 7 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Cleveland still leads the Eastern Conference by 4.5 games, but the Boston Celtics took a 2-1 lead in the season series.
