Things aren’t right with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That was on display once again as they dropped Sunday’s game 117-115 to an injured Boston Celtics team that was playing the second night of a back-to-back themselves.
The Cavs weren’t able to get enough defensive rebounds, stops, or timely baskets when it mattered most. They weren’t the aggressors on either end of the floor, came out of the gates slow, and weren’t able to do enough in the fourth quarter to dig themselves out of the deficit they built. In short, this felt like many of the Cavs’ previous losses this season.
They fell behind by 21 midway through the third quarter. Boston had firm control of the game throughout most of the second half, but the Cavs staged a brief comeback in the final minute. They cut the deficit to three, but didn’t have an answer for Payton Pritchard. He knocked down a midrange jumper to make it a five-point game with 27 seconds left. This should’ve ended the game.
Donovan Mitchell hit a three, the Celtics hit both free throws, then Darius Garland hit a difficult off-the-dribble triple to make it a one-point game. A missed free throw by Jaylen Brown left the door open for what would’ve been an improbable comeback.
The Cavs had a timeout and the ball with 0.7 seconds left down two. But instead of drawing up a play for Mitchell, head coach Kenny Atkinson instead used him as the inbounder. The Celtics blew up the initial action, which then resulted in the ball being dumped off to Evan Mobley for a last-second off-ballance jumper that never had a chance of falling.
Cleveland didn’t have an answer for Pritchard. He lit the Cavs up from deep — as he seems to always do — going 6-11 from deep en route to 42 points.
The Cavaliers have needed Mitchell to be their savior more than a team with this much talent should. He wasn’t able to do enough to steal the victory. He had an off night by his standards as he went just 7-16 from the field with 18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and five turnovers.
Evan Mobley was one of the few bright spots for the Cavs. He put up a team-high 27 points on 11-17 shooting to go along with 14 rebounds and four assists.
Darius Garland continues to work his way back from his injured toe. This was his seventh game this season. Garland finished with 21 points on 7-16 shooting with eight assists and four turnovers.
Cleaning the defensive glass was once again an issue. They allowed the Celtics to grab 39.1% of their misses (89th percentile). This led to 16 second-chance points.
The Cavs won’t have long to lick their wounds. They’ll be back in action Monday night as they travel to Indianapolis to take on the Indiana Pacers.