The Celtics eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 113-98 victory in Game 5 of their second-round series on Wednesday night. This is the third one. Today we will discuss about Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers: NBA reacts,Jayson Tatum.
Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers: NBA reacts,Jayson Tatum
Although it ultimately didn’t work out, it was an example of what the Cavaliers hoped to do in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against Boston on Monday.
The underdog team had to play without its MVP guard and center.
The opponent was the Celtics.
LeBron James sat front row in street clothes.
The last time all those ingredients came together was on Feb. 1, when the Los Angeles Lakers faced the Celtics in Boston, with both James and center Anthony Davis unavailable to play.
Easy night for the guys in green? barely. The rest of the Lakers showed up to the Celtics and, to a lesser extent, their two stars with an unexpected 114–105 win.
However, this time, the changes were a little less. Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Allen were two sidelined starters. James went there as a Cavs alumnus, after his Lakers had already done so just two weeks earlier. And the Celtics had already been humiliated once in this series, so they weren’t going to let that happen again.
Here are five takeaways from the 109-102 win, which left Boston one win away from reaching the East final for the sixth time in eight years.
What’s up with the colts this postseason? Giannis Antetokounmpo never got on the court for Milwaukee because of him. Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis has missed five games and counting after straining his right side in the first round against Miami. Now it’s Mitchell, whose left calf tore him up in Game 3 on Saturday and didn’t feel better until Monday.
Mitchell averaged 31.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the first three games, while hitting 53% of his 3-point attempts, easily making him the best player in the series.
His absence hurt the Cavs offensively, not only decreasing production, but also enabling Boston to focus its defensive attention on players less accustomed to such heat.
The “others” hung in there admirably. The Cavs took the lead 65-64 early in the third quarter and the
Strus missed his final four 3-point attempts en route to fouling out. Mobley needed more offensive opportunities, but the Cavs went a little 3-mad, making just 3-of-13 in the fourth quarter and 15-of-48 overall.
It is his most attempts, regular season or playoffs, since March 2023, when he scored 48 in a game against Boston.
Maybe it made sense because they were missing Mitchell’s firepower. But getting the ball inside more against veteran Al Horford (who starts in Porzingis’ absence) could mean a higher percentage of shots.
And it might have gotten the Cavs to the foul line a bit more as they shot only seven free throws to the Celtics’ 24 and were outscored 21-5 on freebies.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff did not like the whistle inequity, saying his men were not rewarded when they attacked the basket. Garland fouled out in the paint most of the time, made a lot of kills on the floor and hit only two free throws.
“Seven free throw attempts in 48 minutes is tough,” Garland said. “We drive the ball. Very. Seven free throws. Two of them are technical experts. So a total of five in 48 minutes of play.
Garland, an All-Star two years ago, played hard and reached 40 minutes while picking up four fouls. He was his team’s only starter in positive plus-minus territory at plus-1. But a key for the Cavs in the long-term, if not the immediate, future will be him matching up better with Mitchell.
Note: Of Garland’s 12 highest scoring nights during the season, Mitchell did not play in seven of them and made terrible shots in two others. Garland needs the ball in his hands to make an impact.
This had the hallmarks of a trap game for the Celtics, but they found much of that vulnerability out of their system when they lost Game 2. They may need regular reminders that they are deeper, more talented and better than most NBA players. , but generally, one example per series is sufficient.
Boston was stronger on the boards (48-32), better on the break.
NBA reacts
The Boston Celtics advanced to their third consecutive Eastern Conference Finals with a 113–98 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points for the top-seeded Celtics, who won the best-of-seven semifinal series 4–1.
They will face either the Indiana Pacers or the New York Knicks for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the NBA Finals.
Boston Celtics vs Cleveland Cavaliers: NBA reacts,Jayson Tatum
Elsewhere, Luka Doncic scored 31 points to help the Dallas Mavericks take a 3-2 series lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Slovenian guard delivered his second consecutive triple-double with 10 rebounds and 11 assists as Dallas bounced back from letting a 14-point lead slip in game four.
“It’s just our mentality,” Doncic said.
“We know the last game we played them at home, we let it go. It was our mistakes and they made shots.”
The Mavericks will have a chance to wrap up the play-off series and reach the Western Conference Finals when they return home for game six on Sunday (01:00 BST).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points for the top-seeded Thunder, who now need to win consecutive games to advance.
Meanwhile, the Celtics can find out their Eastern Conference final opponents as early as Saturday when New York, which holds a 3-2 lead in its series against Indiana, travels to Indianapolis for the sixth game.
Speaking after his team’s win, Boston’s Jaylen Brown said: “Honestly, it’s a blessing to be a part of the win.
“It’s been a great journey so far, but we’re not done yet. We just have to keep going.”
Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum leads the Boston Celtics to their third consecutive East Finals appearance after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jayson Tatum has 25 points as Boston beats Cleveland in Game 5 to reach the East final where it will face either New York or Indiana. The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers in Game 5 of the Eastern Semifinals with a 113–98 victory.
