It’s been a rough 24 hours for the Boston Celtics. After getting knocked off by the New York Knicks in double overtime at home Sunday night, the team lost Monday’s road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, once again, where they found themselves on the wrong end of a 118-114 outcome.
The Cavaliers mounted a late comeback late to force overtime, but it was the last 15 seconds of regulation when the real drama began. After Derrick White got the friendliest of rolls on a 3-pointer to put Boston up 109-107 with 12.8 seconds left, Donovan Mitchell got downhill to the rim for an opportunity to tie the game. While he missed the shot, the referees called a questionable late foul on Celtics forward Grant Williams, which was unsuccessfully challenged by Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla. Mitchell drained both free throws, tying the game with 5.8 seconds left.
On the next play, Payton Pritchard managed to go coast-to-coast for a potential game-winning layup, similar to what Mitchell had done on the previous play. However, the shot rimmed out and the subsequent second-chance tip-in didn’t fall before the buzzer. Except, hold on, that wasn’t the end. The officials had called a foul prior to the buzzer going off, giving Williams — who’s shooting almost 83 percent from the stripe season — the chance to win the game at the foul line.
But here’s where things get even wilder. As Williams got ready to take his free throws, Mitchell approached him in an effort to try and get inside his head. It’s not clear what Mitchell said, but Williams responded by saying “I’ll make them both.”
He did not make them both.
In fact, Williams missed both would-be game-winning free throws, sending the game to overtime where the Cavaliers ultimately won. That’s one that will probably stick with Williams for a little bit, but the silver lining in this, if there is one, is that Boston had the game in their grasp despite being down Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III. While “almost” wins don’t count for anything in the standings, the effort from Malcolm Brogdon off the bench, in which he finished with 24 points, five assists and four rebounds, should be added to his portfolio for Sixth Man of the Year consideration.
On the downside, however, Boston allowed Mitchell to go off for 40 points, a night after letting Immanuel Quickley drop 38 points. While the loss in starters played a huge role in Mitchell getting whatever he wanted, especially at the rim, Boston’s defense as of late has taken a step back. Through the first three months of the season the Celtics had the fifth-best defense in the league. Since Feb. 1 that once stingy defense has fallen to 11th. That’s not enough of a drop off to be overly concerned, but with the playoffs less than six weeks away it is enough of one for Boston to want to ratchet up things on that end of the floor.
