The top two sides in the Eastern conference came face to face in Cleveland last night with the number one seed in the division up for grabs. Unfortunately for the Celtics they would be without Jaylen Brown and Derrick white as Brown struggled with illness, while White is still struggling with the foot injury he sustained in the NBA Cup game against the Bulls. Nevertheless, Boston battled hard and had a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the second half, but Donavon Mitchell went off in the fourth quarter to end the Celtics’ seven game winning streak.
Without Brown and White the Celtics would definitely need more scoring from their supporting cast and Kristaps Porzingis provided just that. He started excellently punishing the Cavaliers’ defence in the post, but Boston was still no match for Cleveland through the early exchanges and they took a four-point lead into the second quarter.
Without their premier players Boston had to look to others in their absence, Drew Petersen came off the bench for just his fourth game of the season. He had never played anything but garbage time minutes in the big leagues until this game but found himself playing extended minutes in this one. Petersen played some really good defence in his minutes and even knocked down a couple of threes. However, Petersen’s minutes highlight another issue which is Joe Mazzulla’s lack of faith in the other wing players on Boston’s roster, specifically Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer.
Just as it was on Friday night the third quarter belonged to Jayson Tatum, he scored 17 points in the period and completely dominated. He stepped up massively in the absence of his partner in crime and scored 33 points as well as hauling in eight rebounds. Boston drove their lead to 14 and managed to maintain a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter.
Boston maintained their advantage for through the early exchanges of the final period, but when Donovan Mitchell entered the game, the energy completely shifted towards the Cavs. Mitchell instantly hit a three on the left win and then buried another one on the next trip down the floor. He then nailed a ridiculous step-back three over Sam Hauser on the next possession to tie the game. Cleveland controlled the game throughout the final exchanges as they continually fouled up three to maintain their 1-point advantage. In the end Cleveland claimed a huge win to remain atop the Eastern Conference.
After the game Kristaps Porzingis spoke of his performance via NBCSportsBoston: “I felt myself that I didn’t play up to my level and I was half a step late in some situations.” Tonight the Celtics will face their old foe the Miami Heat back at the TD Garden looking to bounce back from this defeat.
Add comment
Comments