The Celtics pulled off one of their biggest upset wins of the season Sunday night, defeating the Cavaliers despite playing without Derrick White (calf) and Neemias Queta (ankle) on tail end of a back-to-back.
Boston led by as many as 23 points in the victory before holding off a late Cavs charge in the 116-115 victory. The victory gives an 11-9 record, just a half-game behind the Cavaliers in the East standings.
The Celtics had a ton of inspiring performances in the win, including career highs from Jordan Walsh (points) and Jaylen Brown (assists). However, the third straight loss for Cleveland drew the ire of starting forward Jaylon Tyson who called out his teammates after the win.
“We’re not hungry enough. What happened to us last year it’s a similar thing that’s happening this year; it’s a common theme, ultimately, it’s on us to fix it,” [Tyson said via Tony Pesta](https://www.fearthesword.com/cavs-analysis/41105/jaylon-tyson-blasts-cavs-for-lack-of-effort-other-teams-want-it-more-than-us). “The young guys, the role players, it shouldn’t be us having to bring energy every time, right? Everyone has to bring energy, everyone has to pour into this thing.”
The Cavaliers were shorthanded for the matchup without starting center Jarrett Allen and a couple other rotation players (Max Strus, Larry Nance Jr.). However, the Cavs look like a far different team now from the group that cruised through the East last season with 64 wins in the regular season.
Instead, the Cavs continue to struggle against teams with far less talent on paper like Boston. The Celtics improved to 2-0 against the Cavaliers during the regular season and are beginning to expose some cracks in a team that was considered a top-tier East contender at the start of the year. Tyson is just in his second season but was vocal about trying to find an answer to the uninspiring stretch.
”Come together as a team, and do your job,” Tyson said of the solution. “I feel like teams want it more than us, there’s a target on a lot of our guys’ backs, and it’s everyone’s job to say, ‘you wanna come at us, let’s go.‘”
The Celtics will have a chance to sweep the season series against the Cavaliers in March but changes could be coming for Cleveland long before then if they can’t snap out of this funk.