Inside The Celtics

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Cavaliers: Jayson Tatum's 41-Point Performance Propels Boston to Bounce-Back Victory

Fantastic ball movement and a dominant third frame helps the Celtics earn their first win over the Cavaliers this season.

Bobby Krivitsky

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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After a 109-94 loss to the Knicks on Monday that dropped the Celtics to second in the East, Boston bounced back with a 117-113 win over the Cavaliers.

It's the Celtics' first victory over Cleveland after suffering two overtime defeats against them earlier in the season.

While Donovan Mitchell poured in a game-high 44 points, and his backcourt mate, Darius Garland, scored 29 and distributed nine assists, pacing all participants in the latter, Jayson Tatum led the hosts back into the win column, delivering a team-high 41 points.

The four-time All-Star also matched Al Horford and Robert Williams with 11 rebounds, the most on the home team, and his eight assists were also a Boston-best on Wednesday.

Speaking of Horford, he drilled 6/8 threes, matching his career-high in makes, finishing with a season-high 23 points on 8/10 shooting.

As for the Celtics' other starters, Williams paired his 11 rebounds with as many points, registering a double-double. Brown scored 16 points and dished out four assists. And Marcus Smart chipped in 14 points and three steals.

In a surprising development, Grant Williams was a healthy scratch. After the game, Joe Mazzulla said of that decision: "Just matchups on the offensive end, as far as spacing the floor and having rim protection."

Those who did take the floor did an excellent job playing with pace and keeping the ball moving, consistently creating high-quality opportunities. Boston assisted on 27/39 field goals.

That helped the hosts shoot 50 percent from the floor and behind the arc, making 16/32 threes.

Now, a deep dive into what stood out in each quarter of a 117-113 win that ended up much closer than it should've been.

Boston's Ball Movement Fantastic in First Frame, but They Again Struggle Keeping Cavaliers Off the Glass

The Celtics came out with considerable energy, and their ball movement at the start of the game was fantastic.

But the Cavaliers settled in quickly. To get Evan Mobley involved and with easy-scoring opportunities, the visitors dialed up a simple but effective play, where Mobley looped behind Darius Garland as the latter drove, pitched the ball back to the former, and Mobley, entering the paint with momentum and an unobstructed path to the rim, put two points on the board, tying the game at nine.

In an intriguing counter to Cleveland's starting five, which features Mobley and center Jarrett Allen, Joe Mazzulla deployed a three-guard lineup with Marcus Smart, Derrick White, and Malcolm Brogdon sharing the floor.

In the nearly four minutes they played together, those three helped the hosts turn a 14-13 deficit into a 21-20 advantage.

That included a sequence where White stripped Allen at the basket after the latter grabbed a Donovan Mitchell missed layup. Jaylen Brown then pushed the pace, getting all three Cavaliers' defenders back in transition to collapse on him, leading to a pass back to White, who shoveled the ball to Smart for a layup.

There was also an unaccounted-for White swooping in to grab a Brown miss, resulting in a put-back dunk by the latter.

But the quarter ended with a Jayson Tatum miss turning into Ricky Rubio launching an outlet pass over Brogdon's head, reaching Caris LeVert for a dunk that gave Cleveland a 28-26 edge after 12 minutes.

Al Horford, 3/3 from the field, including 2/2 from beyond the arc, and Darius Garland tied for quarter-high eight points.

After going 9/42 on threes in their loss to the Knicks on Monday, the Celtics went 3/8 (37.5 percent) from long range in the first frame. They also assisted on 9/11 field goals and shot 50 percent from the floor. Plus, they produced 16 points in the paint, but the Cavaliers matched that figure.

But as they did in the first two matchups, the visitors feasted on second-chance scoring, converting four offensive rebounds to ten points. Boston needs to make a more concerted effort to box out and gang rebound, especially as a switch-heavy defense.

Celtics' Ball Movement and Paint Production Help Hosts Enter Halftime with the Lead

Early in the second frame, it was time for the Celtics to take advantage of second-chance opportunities, as Tatum cleaned up a Mike Muscala missed three with authority.

Shortly after that, Tatum led a 9-2 run, burying a pull-up from 27 feet at the left wing, finding Sam Hauser for a corner three, and attacking the basket for a layup through contact that turned into an old-school three-point play. The latter gave Boston a 37-33 advantage with 8:09 left.

Twenty of the hosts' 37 points came in the paint, a sign of their aggressive approach against a defense with considerable size in the front court and diversifying their shot selection.

Also, Hauser's make put him at 2/4 from behind the arc to start the game. He continues reinforcing he's back to being a reliable long-range threat.

But the Celtics' offense went cold late in the period. Following a Brown alley-oop to Robert Williams, Boston went scoreless for 2:40 before Horford ended the drought on a left-corner three off a feed from Tatum.

Defensive stops and six points at the free-throw line helped the Celtics take a 55-52 lead into halftime.

After 24 minutes, Tatum led all participants in points (17) and rebounds (7). He also dished out a team-high four assists.

Horford had 11 points on 4/4 shooting, including 3/3 from behind the arc. Smart scored nine.

Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 15 points. Garland provided 12 and a game-high six assists.

Boston assisted on 14/20 first-half field goals, shot 50 percent from the field, and drilled 7/17 (41.7 percent) of their threes.

It's also worth noting that after giving up four offensive rebounds and ten points in the first quarter, the Celtics limited the visitors to one of the former and two of the latter in the second frame.

Tatum Leads Dominant Display by Celtics in Third Frame

The Celtics landed a haymaker in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavaliers 41-26.

Tatum led the way for Boston, generating 18 points and distributing four assists in the period.

That included a dominant stretch where, against the hosts' five-out offense, the visitors found themselves without rim protection on multiple occasions as Tatum sliced his way to the rim, only having to beat his defender off the dribble.

Tatum engineered a 10-2 runoff, producing multiple layups and tipping in one he missed. He also buried a step-back three from the left wing.

And when the four-time All-Star drove and sprayed the ball out to Horford for a right-corner three that fell through the cylinder after dancing on the rim multiple times, extending the run to 13-2, it gave the Celtics an 81-61 lead with 5:01 left in the third frame.

And while Mitchell kept coming, finishing with a quarter-high 19 points, as the hosts continued countering, Robert Williams earned a Tommy Point on a sequence where he fought for multiple offensive rebounds, earning a trip to the line, where his two free throws put the hosts ahead 93-73 with 1:25 to play in the period.

Boston entered the final frame leading 96-78.

Celtics Take Their Foot off the Gas, but Still Close Out the Cavs

A pair of Garland pull-up jumpers and Mitchell finding LeVert for a layup helped the Cavaliers stage a 7-0 run that trimmed their deficit to 98-85 with 9:38 remaining.

At the 9:24 mark, White found Horford for an above-the-break three, representing Boston's first field goal of the period.

On the Celtics' following possession, Horford and Brown worked in concert on multiple drive-and-kicks, leading to a right-corner three for the latter, extending the hosts' advantage to 104-88 with 8:45 on the game clock.

While the lead hovered around 13 for most of the quarter after that, in the final stages, Boston took its foot off the gas too early, resulting in turnovers and passing up potential points after beating Cleveland's pressing defense.

And when Garland swished his second-straight open three, this one off a Brogdon turnover, it narrowed the gap to 113-108 with 27.1 seconds left. There were audible gasps from the TD Garden crowd as Garland knocked down that shot.

Fortunately for the Celtics, free throws from Smart and Tatum helped Boston close out a 117-113 win over the Cavaliers that ended up being way closer than it should've been.

Overall, it was an impressive showing in a bounce-back victory after Monday's loss in New York. It also marks the Celtics' first win over the Cavaliers this season after two overtime defeats.

Up Next

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

Further Reading

A Top Celtics Free-Agent Target Signs Elsewhere, Where Does Boston Go from Here?

Former Celtic Defends Jayson Tatum After His First-Career Ejection

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Loss vs. Knicks: New York Bests Boston on a Cold Shooting Night by the Visitors

Jayson Tatum Discusses His Game-Winning Shot vs. Sixers, Including His Message to the Celtics in the Preceding Timeout

Film Room: How the Celtics Defend Joel Embiid

Jayson Tatum Unveils Jordan Tatum 1's

Published
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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