In the midst of an otherwise strong start to the postseason for the Boston Celtics, Game 2 is becoming something of a sore spot. After losing Game 2 against the Miami Heat in the first round, the Celtics again struggled in Game 2 of the semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. After fighting to a draw in the first half, the Celtics gave up a huge third quarter to Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers, who managed to even up the series at one game apiece, 118-94.
Jayson Tatum’s shooting woes haven’t fully resolved themselves yet, but he still led the Celtics in scoring on the evening with 25 points (7-of-17 shooting). Jaylen Brown followed up his 33-point outing in Game 1 with a more subdued 19 (7-of-17), and Payton Pritchard tacked on 13 points and four assists off the bench, but the Celtics generally couldn’t muster much consistency on either end of the floor.
For the Cavaliers, Evan Mobley enjoyed the best game of his young NBA Postseason career, scoring 21 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing five assists and recording three stocks. Mitchell struggled in the first half, but rode an electric third quarter to a 29-point night. Darius Garland added 14 points, and Caris LeVert had a strong night off the bench with 21.
Behind a strong start from Mobley, who opened the game with 11 points and a rare three-pointer, the Cavaliers caught the Celtics on their heels in the first quarter. Cleveland was efficient with their touches inside the arc, shooting 11-of-16 from two-point range and taking advantage of a sluggish Boston offense that shot just 36% from the field. Tatum led the Celtics in scoring in the opening quarter with eight, but did most of his damage from the free throw line, making just one field goal. The Celtics trailed Cleveland 30-24 entering the second quarter.
The Celtics corrected the momentum early in the second quarter, kicking off the return to play with a quick 6-0 run in the first two minutes, which they quickly extended as far as 16-3 to regain control of the lead. The surge put the Celtics back in control of the proceedings, but it didn’t sustain long enough to extend their advantage more significantly. They led by two-to-three possessions for much of the quarter, but heady play by Mobley (15 first half points) and Caris LeVert (12) kept the Cavs alive. The Celtics matched Cleveland’s 30-24 first quarter with a 30-24 second of their own, and the two teams entered the halftime break tied at 54 apiece.
The scales tilted back towards Cleveland as the second half began, with the Cavs rattling off a modest 8-3 run to open the third quarter. Tatum and Brown briefly stifled some of the momentum with consecutive and-one layups, but the Cavs continued to churn forward. Mitchell began to finally make his mark on the game, connecting on a three-pointer, and a visibly hampered Darius Garland made an impact as a facilitator, finding Isaac Okoro for a layup at the midway point of the quarter to put the Celtics down nine and prompt a Joe Mazzulla timeout.
Boston snapped the Cavaliers’ 10-2 run with a trip to the free throw line from Luke Kornet, but Kornet hit just one of his two attempts before Garland responded with a three-pointer to hand the Celtics a double-digit deficit. Kornet drew another foul on Mobley on the ensuing possession, kicking the red-hot center to the bench with four fouls for the night. Despite forcing Cleveland’s best player for the evening to the bench, though, the Celtics weren’t able to make up ground. The Cavs pushed their lead as far as 14 points and enjoyed a 90-78 lead entering the final quarter.
Having scored 16 points in the third quarter, Mitchell went back to work in the fourth and connected on an early three-pointer. The shot was a quick indicator of how the fourth quarter was about to proceed for the Celtics; they simply couldn’t string together stops, and the Cleveland lead continued to swell. The Cavs pushed ahead by 20 points with just over six minute remaining in regulation. Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench shortly thereafter, and the Celtics never meaningfully challenged again.
Next up, the Eastern Conference Semifinals will hit the road, shifting to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday at 8:30 PM EST on TNT.
