Fourth-Quarter Rally Falls Short in 109-98 Loss

Cleveland didn’t much from its second unit on Sunday afternoon, with the Celtics reserves outscoring them, 41-13, overall. Jaylon Tyson led the Cavs bench with eight points, six rebounds and a steal, but as a group, the collective shot just 5-of-19 from the floor. 

Boston was led by Jaylon Brown, who nearly posted a triple double – finishing with 23 points, nine boards and eight assists. In just his second game back from an Achilles injury suffered in last spring’s postseason, Jayson Tatum followed up with 20 points in 27 minutes of work. Neemias Queta led both teams with 11 boards. 

Baylor Schneierman doubled-up in 26 minutes of action off Boston’s bench with 16 points and 10 boards and Payton Pritchard – who’s averaging 23.3ppg in three games against Cleveland this year – continued to be a thorn the Cavaliers’ side, leading all reserves with 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, adding seven assists and a steal in the win. 

*** The Cavaliers get right back at it on Monday night, welcoming the Sixers to town to complete the back-to-back. From there, the Cavs play five of their next six on the road – traveling to Orlando for a Wednesday night matchup with the Magic before playing two straight against the Mavericks, on Friday night in Dallas and the following Sunday afternoon in Cleveland. After that, the Wine and Gold hit the road for three straight, with stops in Milwaukee, Chicago and New Orleans on the docket. 

“It’s not just one game,” lamented Coach Kenny Atkinson. “It seems like with this team, we get down in a big hole, because they win their spots early. So, we didn’t do a great job. And then we react, but when you’re in that big of a hole, it’s too late. Especially when you’re an excellent team, like they are. It seems like a theme, and that’s a bit concerning. We have to do better.”

After missing the previous four games with a strained groin, Donovan Mitchell returned to key Cleveland’s final flurry – netting 18 of his game-high 30 points after the break. Overall, the seven-time All-Star went 9-for-18 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the stripe, adding seven boards, five assists, a pair of blocks and a steal. Sunday marked Mitchell’s 30^th 30-point game of the season. 

Evan Mobley got the Cavs off to a solid start – tallying nine of his 24 points in the opening quarter. On the afternoon, the 5^th-year big man went 10-of-19 from the field, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and leading both squads with three blocks – his 15^th game this year with at least three swats. 

*** The Wine & Gold have been on a roll against the East’s top squads as the season has progressed into the homestretch. But they still have some work to do if they see the Celtics again.

Sunday’s story boiled down to the Cavs’ abysmal second quarter – netting 10 total points, going 0-for-14 from deep and 4-for-25 overall in the period – putting them behind the 8-ball the rest of the way, with a fourth-quarter rally falling short in a 109-98 loss at Rocket Arena. The decision dropped Cleveland to 0-3 against Boston this season. 

After a rare four-day respite, the Cavs didn’t shake off the rust until after intermission, cutting the Celtics 26-point second half lead to eight midway through the fourth quarter. But that was as close as Cleveland would get, with Boston answering the final push with a 6-0 run to put the contest out of reach. 

James Harden doubled-up for the third time as a Cavalier, leading both teams with 10 assists to go with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting. The 11-time All-Star was one of just three Cavs to register double-figure scoring.