CLEVELAND — Not much went right for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon. They couldn’t make a shot, struggled to stay with the Boston Celtics’ stars on the perimeter, and were outhustled all afternoon. This all led to a 109-98 loss to the class of the Eastern Conference that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score would indicate.
For as badly as things ended, the game started well for the Cavs. Evan Mobley took advantage of mismatches early on as he scored nine of the team’s first 13 points.
This led to Cleveland taking a brief five-point lead at the start of the game. That was as good as it would get.
Boston controlled the remainder of the quarter thanks to a strong opening from Jayson Tatum. He poured in 12 points on 4-6 shooting in the first to give his team a nine-point advantage after one.
Things went from bad to worse in the second.
The Cavaliers couldn’t buy a basket in the second quarter. Boston cut off lanes to the basket and made them a jump-shooting team, which proved to be the right strategy this afternoon. The Cavs failed to convert any of their 14 three-point attempts in the quarter and went just 4-25 from the field overall. This led to them scoring just 10 points in the quarter.
Boston didn’t take advantage as much as they should’ve. They scored just 21 points of their own, going 5-20 from the field (20%). But the 20-point advantage they took into the break was enough to cruise to the stress-free victory.
The Cavs were able to make the game more respectable in the second half. They cut Boston’s lead to eight midway through the fourth quarter, but it never really felt like they had a chance to actually win the game.
Support us and Let ‘Em Know with Homage!
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can buy the Let ‘Em Know shirt HERE. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE.
The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell. He scored 30 points on 9-18 shooting with five assists in his return to the lineup after missing four games with a groin injury.
Mobley added 24 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
James Harden struggled to find his shot. He didn’t have his most efficient night from the floor, going 6-16, and he wasn’t able to make up for it by getting to the free-throw line. He ended the day with 19 points and 10 assists.
The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown’s 23 points and eight assists. Tatum provided 20 points in his second game back from injury.
Payton Pritchard supplied 18 points, with each seemingly coming every time the Cavs were starting to turn the momentum of the game around. He has a knack for making back-breaking shots against the Cavs.
This was a disappointing loss for a Cleveland team that had really established good momentum over the last few weeks. They had big wins over the other top teams in the conference, the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons, in the James Harden Era. The Celtics could be a different story. Even though the Cavs didn’t play up to their skill level, the Celtics present a lot of problems for the Cavs with their wings and spaced-out offense.
The Cavs will be back in action Monday evening when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is at 7 PM.
