CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Comeback Cavs have improbably made it again.
Despite lagging behind for most of the game, Cleveland rebounded in the fourth quarter and then outlived the undermanned and exhausted Boston Celtics in Monday night’s overtime 118-114. The Cavs are now 7-0 OT this season and have their first win against an opponent with a winning record (at the time they played them) since Feb. 10 — albeit one that has a tiny asterisk.
“It was a will to win, an understanding of the moment and learning from our mistakes,” said Cavs coach JB Bickerstaff. “It wasn’t Cavalier basketball in the first half. Give the Celtics a lot of credit. They wanted to go out and win and that’s how they played. You took it to another level. We were lucky to find it late. But we have to get better from the start. You can’t have halves like that and expect to keep coming back. Believe our guys, they found a way to fight uphill and come away with a win.
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Boston played the second game of a back-to-back and had a draining — and emotional — double overtime loss to the Knicks the night before. The Celtics were also without three usual starters — MVP candidate Jayson Tatum (knee), jack-of-all-trades forward Al Horford (back) and center Robert Williams III (hamstring).
For most of the night it seemed they would overcome it all and shine an even more brilliant distress signal around the fading Cavaliers.
The Celtics led by as much as 15 points and were up 14 points early in the fourth quarter. Overall, they were ahead for more than 47 minutes of game action.
But as the Cavs have shown this season — even when their game has been maddeningly inconsistent — they don’t give up and refuse to back down.
With the timely substitution of defensive end Lamar Stevens, who played just nine seconds in the first three quarters, the Cavs made a bold push to open the fourth quarter, demolishing the first six points and cutting Boston’s lead to single digits.
The Celtics regrouped and were down by 11 points around the middle. But a timely sequence from Stevens – two offensive rebounds that led to back-to-back baskets and cut the lead to just six – sent a shock to the team and the crowd. The Cavs could sense something special brewing. At the other end, Stevens then helped All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown with a driving layup attempt that resulted in a run-out 3 pointer from Darius Garland.
Though it looked like a certain loss, the Cavs were suddenly somehow within possession of the ball.
With 24.7 seconds to go, Donovan Mitchell’s twirling swimmer gave Cleveland its first lead of the second half – until Derrick White quickly responded with a clutch 3-pointer that gently bounced the rim once before sinking in.
Maybe it just wasn’t Cleveland’s night.
On the ensuing possession, which left the Cavs two behind, the ball went again to the team’s late-game alpha, Mitchell. Mitchell shoved the ball up the floor, was accelerated by the first defender, flew to the rim, took a bump and attempted to turn in a reverse layup. Although Mitchell’s shot went wide and the Celtics collected the rebound, Grant Williams was called off for a foul, giving Mitchell two free throw attempts. With Boston’s challenge unsuccessful, Mitchell calmly did both and tied the game at 109.
With just 5.8 seconds remaining, the Celtics had another chance. A few of them even.
Outside the time-outs, substitute Payton Pritchard raced forward and missed his game-winning floater. Only Williams was there for a put-back attempt. Though he could barely hear the whistle in the boisterous building, Williams was hit on the wrist with a brief confusion on both sides and was awarded two free throws with 0.8 seconds on the clock.
Williams – an 82.7% free throw shooter this season – only needed to make one. He turned to Mitchell and boasted that he could do both. Mitchell teased the crowd and attempted to ice Williams, who was unable to back up his big talk. The first fell short. The second rattled in and out as Marcus Smart’s tip wouldn’t fall at the last second.
“We were just trying to get inside his head, mess him up a little bit, and I feel like we did that a little bit,” Evan Mobley said. “Missed them both and that got us into overtime. We took care of the business from there.”
The Cavs suspended Boston and made enough plays at the other end in OT to edge the tired Celtics 9-5.
Boston, who didn’t arrive at their team hotel until 2:30 a.m., went only to 1 of 8 in overtime.
“I work so hard for these moments, for these opportunities. I didn’t really take a shot in the second half, just trying to find ways to make winning plays,” Mitchell said. “Defensively, offensively, whatever. Just finding ways to win the game. It doesn’t matter how you approach it, just win the game at the end of the day. We couldn’t really afford to lose this one. I don’t know what the exact standings are, but I know we’re like a game or two, whatever it is. That was important. That was huge.”
Mitchell hit a game-high 40 with 14-of-34 from the field and 4-of-11 from 3-point range. It’s his eighth 40-point game this season. He also added 11 rebounds and four assists while playing through a sprained middle finger on his left hand. Mobley finished the game with a double-double and had 25 points remaining with 17 rebounds. It’s his third straight game with a double-double and 20th of the season.
Garland contributed 17 points and 12 assists. He sealed the win by drilling a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining.
The feisty Stevens beat the Celtics and scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds, including six on offense. His corner 3 pointer left OT at 2:14 to give Cleveland a 114-112 lead.
“There’s no way we can win this game without Lamar,” Bickerstaff said. “He set and changed the tone of physicality, of effort. I know I say this a lot, but what I love about this team is that they didn’t want to let him down. He gave his full effort and they would not let his efforts go to waste. They found a way. They upped their level and surpassed them and went out and won the game.
The Celtics were led by Brown, who had 32 points, 13 boards and nine assists. Malcolm Brogdon added 24 points from the bench. Derrick White had 12 while Smart finished with 11 on 4 of 17 shooting and 3 of 11 from beyond the arc.
After scoring 13-of-25 from 3-point range in the first half, Boston went just 3-of-23 in a cool second half and overtime.
“I thought we did a better job of actually just guarding them,” Bickerstaff said when asked about the deviation. “In the first half we were back from 3 point shooters and they just rose in front of us and knocked it down. In the first half we didn’t guard their penetration well so now we’re in scramble mode and they land with shots wide open. I think, especially in the second half, we just did a better job of defending and accepting individual challenges.”
Although Cleveland got some help from the schedulers — and New York — it looked like it was ready to miss the opportunity and move further away from the dispute. But the Cavs found a way, avenging a loss in Boston five days ago and winning the season streak. After pulling down the final rebound, an angry Mitchell slammed the ball off the floor while Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse erupted — and he exhaled.
Survive and advance. It’s March after all.
Next
The Cavs will be out for four straight games, starting with a matchup against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m
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