Celtics take care of business in Cleveland winning Game 4 109-102
On Monday night in Cleveland the Boston Celtics looked to take a convincing 3-1 lead over the Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers. Just about an hour before tip off the news dropped that the Cavaliers would be without their best player in Monday night’s game due to a left calf strain that was bothering him at the end of game 3. For Boston this was an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series with the most dangerous player sidelined for their opponent but would they be able to take advantage of the opportunity?
First Quarter:
With Caris LeVert inserted into the starting lineup for Mitchell the Cavaliers got off to a great start going up 8-2 in the first two minutes. Led by two Max Strus 3 pointers leading to a quick timeout from Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics would immediately respond out of the timeout led by their two best players in Tatum and Smart to go on a 10-0 run to lead 12-8 with 7:56 to go in the first. Boston would continue to go on a run with a Luke Kornet dunk and Pritchard 3 pointer capping off a 19-2 run that would give the Celtics a 21-10 lead with 5:30 to go in the first.
Cleveland would battle back in the final 5 minutes of the first led by Caris LeVert who had 10 points 2 rebounds and an assist in the first. However Cleveland would still find themselves in a 7 point hole because of Jayson Tatum’s great first quarter, he finished with 16 points 4 rebounds and an assist in the first with Boston leading 37-30.
Second Quarter:
Boston would continue to put pressure on Cleveland to start the second with Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown leading the way on both ends. A somewhat controversial call halfway through the second as Max Strus and Jaylen Brown got tangled up after a Brown layup was reviewed and ruled a common foul away from the ball to the displeasure of the Cleveland crowd. This call would lead to a 10-2 Cavs run that would cut the Boston lead to five 48-43 with just under 8:00 minutes to go in the half.
Max Strus was on fire for Cleveland in the first half going 5/5 from 3 point range with his latest cutting Boston’s lead to 2, but Jrue Holiday was also feeling it in the second quarter scoring 10 of his own to get Boston’s lead back up to 5 with 6:29 to go in the half 51-46. Cleveland would continue to chip away the rest of the quarter but a 23 point first half from Jayson Tatum would keep the Cavs at bay and give the Celtics a 62-57 lead headed into the half. Boston had some major turnover issues in the first half but if they could limit those they are in the drivers seat to take a 3-1 series lead.
Third Quarter:
Cleveland would come out battling to start the third forcing more Boston turnovers, and a Darius Garland layup would give Cleveland it’s first lead 65-64 since the game was 8-5 Cavs. Boston’s turnover issues from the first half would continue to hurt them in the second half keeping Cleveland in the game without their star Donovan Mitchell. A concern for Celtics fans heading into the playoffs this season was their coach Joe Mazzulla but he had some very timely timeouts in this one to stunt Cavs runs and calm the Celtics down. Boston would go on another 8-0 run after Mazzulla’s timeout retaking the lead 75-68 with 5:45 to go in the third.
Al Horford’s offense was starting to become a concerning trend for Boston as he continued to be ice cold in the series especially from 3 going 0-3 to this point on the night. Boston would start to get some secondary scoring to help Tatum and Brown, as Jrue Holiday, Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser would hit buckets in the last few minutes of the third to help Boston extend the lead to 88-78 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
Jayson Tatum would continue to be the best player on the floor in the 4th quarter dominating on both ends hitting back to back jumpers to give Boston a 92-80 lead with 10:30 to go in the game. Jrue Holiday would also continue right where he left off Saturday night making great defensive plays and hitting 3’s when needed.
Cleveland would refuse to go away though going on an 8-0 run led by Garland and Wade 3 pointers to cut Boston’s lead to 7 with 9:10 to go in the game. Joe Mazzulla would win a crucial challenge giving Boston the ball back stunting momentum for Cleveland with 4:00 minutes to go and Boston leading by 7.
The Cavs would battle all night without their superstar but the Celtics just proved too much answering every run with one of their own. After the Cavs cut it to 5 they’d get the ball trailing 102-97 with 1:20 to go but a bad Max Strus 3 would give Boston the ball back. Leading to a Jaylen Brown 3 that would prove to be the dagger in this one giving Boston a 105-97 lead with :37 seconds to go. Boston would go on to win 109-102 in what appears to be a trend for these Celtics losing game 2 at home and then winning 2 big games in a row on the road.
Hats off to the Cavaliers who battled all night without their superstar but it just wasn’t enough against a Celtics team that seems to be finding it’s stride after a pitiful game 2 effort. The Celtics now head back to the Garden 1 win away from the Eastern Conference Finals, with the chance to clinch at home on Wednesday night.
