BOSTON — The Boston Celtics packed the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bags for them. A 25-3 run to open the game had TD Garden in a frenzy, and when Jayson Tatum capped it off with a corner three, he and Jaylen Brown motioned to ‘Get ‘em out of here’ (with some other, more creative words thrown in the mix).
But the NBA’s best team refused to board their plane any earlier than their scheduled take-off. Slowly but surely, while fending off one of the best games Tatum has played all season, the Cavs worked their way back. And by the end of the fourth quarter, they were in the driver’s seat.
It was a messy, almost mind-boggling turn of events.
“You just got to put your team in the best position to win and make those adjustments there. But in a game when you lose like that, everybody has to be better,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Coaches have to be better, players have to be better, so you got to make better adjustments, you got to put guys in position. So, constantly going back and forth., and you try to put your team in position to win.”
The Cavs chipped away against the Celtics until the script had completely flipped
A nine-shot first-half for Donovan Mitchell flipped into a 17-shot second half. The mismatches Tatum hunted relentlessly steadily evaporated as Cleveland worked harder and harder to force the ball elsewhere on offense. Mobley’s rough defensive showing was masked by an impressive display on the offensive glass.
The Cavs worked the margins beautifully, and the Celtics—down two starters in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday—couldn’t seem to keep pace.
Though every time Tatum or Brown had the ball in their hands, a mismatch appeared like a rabbit out of a hat, Boston’s defense failed to match that same efficiency. After their 25-3 start to the game, they were outscored 120-91 for the remainder of the game.
The second half alone was a 59-42 advantage for the Cavaliers.
“We missed some shots,” Mazzulla said of Boston’s second-half offense. “Obviously, the game slowed down a little bit. We didn't get out in transition as much in the second half.
“They did a better job of not over-helping and giving us some two-on-ones. And then I thought we missed some two-on-one reads for kick-outs there. So, just a little bit of adjusting by them, and I think just us missing some shots at that end.”
After notching 38- and 36-point quarters in the first half, the Celtics were reduced to just 24 and 18 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Big leads like the one Boston jumped out to rarely hold their course for an entire game, especially ones that spawn from the beginning of one. Water almost always finds its level, and the Celtics’ hot shooting and Cleveland’s sloppy play were bound to subside to some degree.
But the Cavs whittled down the Celtics just enough to put the pressure on them late in the fourth. And by then, it was too little, too late.
“You try manage those runs with not having live-ball turnovers, not giving up offensive rebounds, not getting to the free-throw line, not giving up game plan things,” Mazzulla said.
“And so, in the first half, we gave up a couple offensive rebounds that they were able to score on, gave up some tendency points to some of their guys, but at the same time, you know they're going to make some form of a run, but you just have to continue to work the margins, and continue to play efficient on both ends of the floor.”
The playoffs don’t start for over a month-and-a-half. If anything, the Celtics have more tape on the Cavs now than they would have had if the game were a blowout. But the measured deconstruction of Boston’s lead undoubtedly stung TD Garden.
Regardless of absences, the Celtics got beat on the margins, and that’s never a place Mazzulla wants to lose.