Inside The Celtics

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Second Overtime Loss vs. Cavaliers: Boston's Still Struggling to Maintain Focus, Consistency Defensively

Tatum and Brown combined for 56 points but came up short against a Cavaliers team that matched that figure with their paint production and got 54 from Mitchell and Garland.

Bobby Krivitsky

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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Round two between the Celtics and Cavaliers was another slugfest, with each side exchanging decisive victories from one quarter to the next.

Boston delivered one of its best quarters of the season in the second frame, locking in defensively and outscoring Cleveland 29-15. They then rallied in the fourth quarter to force overtime after Jayson Tatum posterized Jarrett Allen, tying the game with less than seven seconds left.

But on a night where there were 11 lead changes, the Cavaliers had a more reliable source of scoring than the Celtics, producing 56 points in the paint, helping them prevail.

Now, for a more thorough examination of what stood out in Cleveland's 114-113 overtime victory vs. Boston.

Cavs Hang 35 on Celtics in First Frame

Al Horford opened the game by attacking Jarrett Allen from the corner, going right at his chest, and taking it strong for two points at the cup.

In his first game back since suffering an eye injury on opening night, Darius Garland looked sharp in his return. After missing his first shot, he drilled three long-range field goals, including one from 30 feet. He also set Jarrett Allen up for a dunk and found Donovan Mitchell for a three to give Cleveland a 16-11 advantage at the 6:53 mark.

With about 5:30 remaining, Horford went after a long defensive rebound, ending up in the Cavaliers' bench. When he untangled himself, he stayed out of bounds on the baseline, watching the rest of the play unfold. He stayed in but appeared hobbled.

Garland brought the home crowd to its feet when he attacked Malcolm Brogdon off the dribble, then dished a no-look pass to Kevin Love for a dunk, plus the foul. Love made the ensuing free throw, giving Cleveland a 33-22 lead.

Marcus Smart trimmed Boston's deficit to 35-27 at the end of the first frame, collecting a kick-out pass from Jayson Tatum and knocking down a three from the left corner.

Entering the second quarter, Jaylen Brown had a team-high nine points, and Brogdon had seven, but the Celtics had surrendered 16 points in the paint, and the Cavs went 4/9 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Cavaliers are playing with tremendous energy and confidence, and their home crowd's fired up for this showdown with the defending Eastern Conference champions.

Celtics Deliver One of Their Best Quarters of the Season

Considering the quality of the opponent, the game being away from TD Garden, and how the first quarter went, the second frame was one of Boston's best of the young season.

Defensively, they played with the effort, focus, communication, and physicality necessary to limit an explosive offense to 15 points. 

Offensively, their aggressive approach translated to 12 points in the paint, all from the restricted area.

It also produced multiple trips to the free-throw line. The Celtics went into halftime 14/15 from the stripe.

Jaylen Brown exemplified Boston's focus on getting to the rim, finishing the first half with a team-high 16 points, doing most of his damage from inside the paint.

Brown also added five points on five free throws. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists, and only committed two turnovers. Plus, the resistance he provided defensively.

As for Tatum, he was also more aggressive in the second quarter after going 0/3 in the first. He went into the break with nine points, including two after Brown broke up a pass intended for Mitchell, leading to a transition jam for Tatum.

And in a period the Celtics capped with a 34-17 run, taking a 56-50 lead into halftime, they limited Cleveland to shooting 25 percent from the field, including 3/11 from long range. Those stops fueled Boston's offense, propelling the visitors to 45 percent shooting from the field, inflicting most of their damage at the rim.

Cavaliers Respond with a Dominant Third Quarter, Outscoring Celtics 33-20

A 5-0 run by the Celtics, including a Horford three after working the ball inside then out, extended their lead to 12 early in the third quarter. 

But the Cavaliers got back to attacking the rim and finding Allen and Evan Mobley by the basket, fueling a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to 66-64.

While the Celtics produced some quality shots that didn't go down during that stretch, it also represented another example of Joe Mazzulla challenging his team to play through adversity, waiting until a Garland layup trimmed the gap to the score stated above before he called for a timeout.

With 4:02 remaining, a layup by Mitchell, beating Brogdon off the dribble, pushed Cleveland's run to 18-5 and put them ahead 72-71.

That gap grew to 25-8 when Garland crossed up Sam Hauser and cashed in a mid-range jumper above the foul line, extending the Cavs' lead to 79-74 with 1:46 left.

A pair of free throws from Tatum, perhaps a mistake Cleveland will regret, as the foul occurred away from the basket with the Cavaliers in the bonus, cut Boston's deficit to 83-76 entering the final frame. More importantly, it might get the Celtics' star in rhythm on a night he's shooting 4/14, including 2/7 from beyond the arc.

Celtics Rally to Force Overtime

Boston began the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, including a three-point play by Horford, finishing through contact down low, then taking advantage of his first free throw this season. That tied the game at 83.

That burst grew to 12-0 after a Brown mid-range fadeaway jumper and a Grant Williams three, getting the closing defender to bite on a pump fake before taking a dribble towards the corner and swishing a shot that gave the visitors an 88-83 lead.

When Brogdon buried a pull-up shot at the elbow with 8:08 to play, the Celtics, who scored 20 points in the third frame, already had 14 in the fourth.

On their following possession, Tatum skipped a pass from up top to Horford in the right corner, and the latter attacked Mobley off the dribble, taking him into the low post, where he finished with a jump hook off the glass. That put Boston ahead 92-87 with 7:10 to go.

With just under 6:30 left, following terrific defense by Derrick White, denying Mitchell at the rim, Garland hurt his ankle after he tried to save the ball, falling to the floor. While a bit worse for wear, he stayed in the game.

In a sequence starting at the 3:35 mark with Smart battling on the offensive boards, he drew back-to-back fouls, first, getting to the free-throw line, where he gave the Celtics a 98-97 lead. Then, away from the ball, he drew a charge on Garland. Winning plays from a winning player.

Smart then produced a desperately needed bucket, getting deep into the paint and laying the ball in after Garland tried to sell an offensive foul call to no avail. It cut Cleveland's advantage to 102-100 with 1:51 remaining.

Then, when Brogdon drove the right baseline, Smart cut toward the basket from the left wing, collecting the pass, finishing through contact on shot from eight feet, and making the ensuing free throw, cutting the Cavs' lead to 104-103 with 1:21 on the clock.

After Tatum and Mitchell traded buckets and Garland went 1/2 at the stripe, Mazzulla signaled for a timeout with Boston trailing 107-105 with 10.3 seconds left.

The first-year head coach, or whoever was responsible for the ATO the Celtics utilized, did Picasso proud. Tatum came from the backcourt, gathered a bounce pass from Smart, and had plenty of space to continue building momentum as he went into the paint without worrying about a defender going for the strip. He then posterized Allen, tying the game with 6.7 seconds to play.

Ensuring there wouldn't be a repeat of when RJ Barrett broke Boston's hearts with a buzzer beater at Madison Square Garden last year, Tatum then blocked Mitchell's shot, forcing overtime.

Cavaliers Hold on for Another Overtime Win vs. the Celtics

After winning the tip, Cleveland generated an open corner three that Caris LeVert missed, but Mobley grabbed the rebound and kicked the ball out to Garland, who drained a three.

At the other end, Allen blocked Smart's layup attempt, and Mitchell beat everyone down the court, collecting a lob from Garland and finishing off the alley-oop to put the hosts ahead 112-109.

And after a three-shot possession proved fruitless, the Celtics were scoreless more than three minutes into overtime.

Their first field goal came on a Brown jumper from the elbow with 1:34 on the clock. That bucket made it 114-111 Cleveland.

Then, Tatum took off in transition for a layup he felt warranted a trip to the free-throw line as well. 

After that, Smart drew a charge on Allen, giving Boston a chance to take the lead. However, Smart, feeling contact, threw up a jump shot from 17 feet, only to find out a whistle wasn't coming.

After the Cavaliers came up empty at the other end, the Celtics took a timeout with 2.3 seconds left.

Boston again stationed Tatum in the backcourt, but the inbounds went to Brown, flashing to the top of the key. Brown spun, dribbled right, and elevated for a fadeaway jumper in front of the three-point line. But the shot, well-contested by Dean Wade, didn't go down, securing a 114-113 win for the Cavs in an overtime thriller.

Up Next

The Celtics host the Bulls on Friday night. The game tips off at 7:30 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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