BSJ Game Report: Cavs 105, Celtics 104 - Celtics get too casual in 4th, blow 22 point lead

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Cavs, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics hit half their 3-pointers to build a nice eight-point lead after one, but they gave up 10 second-chance points so it could have been better. The lead got up to 15 but settled at 10 at halftime as Jayson Tatum put up 22 points on nine shots. Things got dicey in the third, in part thanks to five Boston turnovers, but they went on a late run to push the lead to 16. It got up to 22 before the Cavs caught fire from 3 and Boston couldn't find the answer. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Fourth quarter collapse: Boston went up 22 and started packing their bags for Denver. Not only did they stop guarding, which led to the Cavs burying eight 3-pointers, but they also stopped scoring. Stopping runs is about scoring as much as it is about defending, and Boston did neither. 

- End-of-game folly: Once again, the Celtics showed the one weakness that hasn’t been fully addressed this season. Down two, with the ball, and :19 on the clock, Joe Mazzulla lets them play so they can attack weak defenders on the floor. But instead of going early enough to make sure there's time to attack, adjust, and get a tip-in off a miss. 

- Teaching moment: Hey every team needs to get humbled sometimes. This game was full of opportunities for the Celtics coaches to finger-wag and MF the Celtics in the next film session. This whole Celtics run has been about good mentality and proper execution. They had neither in that fourth quarter and everyone on the team can take that lesson with them.

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics had a 93-71 lead with nine minutes to go and completely let up. They gave up a 34-11 run to close the game, with Dean Wade scoring 20 points on 7-7 shooting, 5-5 from 3. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Blocked shots: The Celtics defense through three quarters was mostly good, and the rim protection was very good. Derrick White had four blocks and Kristaps Porzingis had three. 

- Luke Kornet: He was very good early on, defending the rim well and even making a nice interior pass for an assist. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The fourth quarter: Everyone was guilty. Everyone. The whole team looked slow in that quarter. Or more specifically, the final nine minutes. Boston started the corner on a 6-0 run. 

- Second chances: They gave up too many second-chance points early in the game and then the Wade putback dunk at the end was the killer. Keep him off the boards at the end and this game is over and Boston escapes with a lot of the same lessons but a win.

- Missed reads: The Celtics missed a lot of open teammates off screens all night long. This was not a very crisp game by them. It was masked by some good defense and made 3-pointers, but the lapses were there all night long. 

- Derrick White’s shooting: He was 1-5, and that one was a weird, falling, prayer that went in after a foul.

 It would have been nice to see him get a few more looks, but I admit that this is a hindsight thing because I wasn’t complaining about it at all during the game. 

- This robbed us of a fun Porzingis moment: He finally hit a corner 3. It was initially ruled a 2, but they changed it later and he gave us this little reaction: 

It would have been a fun thing to talk about after the game. They blew it and ruined this moment. 

HIGHLIGHTS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- That collapse was building all game long.

I spent the whole live coverage chat talking about how the Celtics weren’t executing well and yet they still had a lead. They had been missing reads and going through lapses for most of the game but then would find a four or five minute stretch where things snapped into place. 

I was actually amazed by it. I never felt like their lead made sense but that's just how it goes for great teams sometimes. 

And then, it all caught up to them. They had missed Porzingis on pops all game long and when they finally went to it in the fourth quarter, he wasn’t hitting. They tried to isolate too much the whole night and when they needed some buckets, they couldn't break that habit. 

They messed around a little too much in this game and they finally found out in the fourth quarter. 

- A blow for the Jayson Tatum MVP narrative

Tatum has hit a lot of big shots in his life, but MVPs make a habit of executing in this spot. It doesn’t have to be a shot, either. Look at Derrick White:

Just make the pass to White and live with the result. If a team can double Tatum without fear of his making the pass in that situation, then there's no point of having those other guys on the floor. 

The MVP either wins games like this, or surprises us by not winning games like this. As good as Tatum has been and as central as he is to Boston's chances, he's not the MVP until he controls these late-game situations. 

- There's a difference between choking and what Boston did

Choking implies trying. Choking is panicky. It’s frantic. 

What Boston did was none of those things. The “C” word you’re looking for is “cocky,” which is what Boston was down the stretch. They felt like they didn’t need to execute and finish the game. 

I’m not saying one is better than the other. I’m just properly classifying it for the record. 

Next up: The Celtics head to Denver for a 10 p.m. tipoff Thursday night