Clearly, the oppositions between Boston and Cleveland offer us crazy matches with suspense until the end! After the first act won by the C's ten days earlier, the Cavaliers of Donovan Mitchell took their revenge at home last night, overcoming Joe Mazzulla's troops who were playing without Derrick White (foot) or Jaylen Brown (illness).
Stung in their pride after losing twice in a row to Atlanta, the Cavs were keen to redeem themselves and started the first half accordingly, with outside skill for Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro and a Georges Niang as a luxury sniper (3/3 at the break) to increase the gap to +11 at the start of the second quarter (38-27). Sam Hauser and Al Horford were then valuable relays alongside Jayson Tatum to gradually revive Boston. The hardest part was almost done at halftime (51-49), but the best was to come, since Jayson Tatum dominated the third quarter almost single-handedly, to put the Celtics at +14!
Mitchell catches fire!
JT scored 17 of the 35 points scored by his team during the period, stringing together baskets with disconcerting ease, not forgetting the two 3-point baskets from Sam Hauser, that of Kristaps Porzingis and Drew Peterson to widen the gap ( 70-84). It was then when almost no one expected it that the locals made a thunderous comeback.
The Mitchell-Merrill-Okoro trio first placed a 3/3 3-pointer to put the pressure back on Boston, until Donovan Mitchell completely caught fire, with three 3-point baskets to tie the game at 101 -101 then a floater to give Cleveland the lead. An advantage that the Cavs will maintain until the end, thanks to a dunk from Evan Mobley, well served from the baseline by Isaac Okoro, then thanks to the composure of Darius Garland and Georges Niang on the free throw to hold on until the end. at the buzzer and validate a short but precious success (115-111), all under the eyes of Travis Scott, in the front row.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
Cleveland stays the course. The last two defeats against Atlanta had weakened the Cavs before their reunion against the Celtics. First place in the Eastern Conference was at stake in this match and Cleveland did what was necessary to keep the throne by once again relegating the reigning champion to two victories (18v-3d), which is no small feat! The next two matches between the two teams will take place in February.
Donovan Mitchell's recital. Five small points at the break with skill still to be desired… And 30 points in the second half with a card in the fourth quarter including four 3-point baskets to blow up the Celtics! As a bonus, during his hot spell where he notably planted three 3-point baskets, the former Jazz scorer was defended by Jrue Holiday, one of the best defenders in the league! Poor Jrue could only see the damage on each possession which ended with a shot from Donovan Mitchell, heading towards the C's circle. 35 points in the end for “Spida”, with a nice 6/11 at 3-points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, for a superstar performance which allowed his team to turn the tide in the last act to win.
Jayson Tatum shook his elbow. Author of a crazy third quarter, JT found himself in a long-distance duel with Donovan Mitchell when the latter equalized at 101-101 just under two minutes from the buzzer. The Celtics' go-to-guy first attempted a drive to attempt a floater which almost ended in an air ball. Donovan Mitchell then hit the nail on the head with a perfectly executed floater (103-101). JT inherited the ball again on the next possession, but his attempt to push Darius Garland to finish near the circle failed again due to lack of accuracy in his last move. This is certainly the moment where the match changed, since Cleveland then went to +4 on Evan Mobley's dunk, and was no longer caught.
Payton Pritchard almost succeeded. In the middle of a time trial when Cleveland went to +4, Payton Pritchard was not far from finishing as a hero. First there was his 3-pointer then his 4/4 throw which prolonged the suspense until 5 seconds from the end. Back on the penalty line while the score was 113-110, the leader made his first shot before purposely missing the second while hoping for a miracle on the offensive rebound. His bluff was perfectly executed as the ball sent with force bounced on the front of the circle before falling into his hands. The only problem was that his right foot left the penalty line too quickly and the referees penalized him with a “lane violation”, giving the ball back to the Cavs from Donovan Mitchell who was not pray to finish the job.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
