BSJ Game Report: Celtics 112, Cavs 105 - C's hold off Cleveland, win fourth straight

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Cavaliers, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown carried the Celtics offense when no one (on either team) could hit a shot. Al Horford got going to end the quarter and Boston went up 13. The lead hit 20 early in the second, but the Cavs made a late run to cut it to 10 at the half. The Cavs cut it to six, but Jayson Tatum’s 11 third-quarter points helped them add two to their lead. The Cavs made the run we knew they’d make, but Derrick White’s 14 fourth-quarter points helped hold them off, giving Boston the win. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- A playoff-type win: This was the kind of tough, hard-fought win the Celtics will need to win in the playoffs. Their defense was mostly good, they fought through some tough shooting slumps thanks to different guys, they overcame foul trouble, and they held it together down the stretch … all on the road. They remain the best road team in the NBA, knocking off the best home team in the league. 

- Derrick White saves: His monster fourth won the game for Boston. This is a great stretch for my “as White goes, so go the Celtics” take. It’s funny that when he was in a prolonged funk, so were the Celtics. Now that he’s back, so are the C’s. 

- Back on track: The Celtics have won four in a row and seven of nine. The last time they won four-straight was in November as part of a seven-game winning streak. 

TURNING POINT 

I’ll offer two: The first is the 22-7 run that built a 20-point lead early in the second. That's too early to say that's when the game was put away, but the Celtics never trailed after the 5:50 mark of the first quarter, and building that massive lead was why. 

However, there was a lot game left, so we’ll fast forward to 4:13 of the fourth where Derrick White hit three 3-pointers in 90 seconds in a 9-2 run to push the lead to double digits and put it out of reach. 

THINGS I LIKED

- The defense, especially early: I thought the first-quarter defense was incredible. Yeah, there was some luck involved, but it’s about time some of that shooting luck broke Boston’s way. They still made Evan Mobley uncomfortable, and the Cavs just aren’t the same when he’s not effective. Kristaps Porzingis was especially good defensively, picking up two steals and two blocks and countless other shots changed at the rim. 

- Derrick White’s fourth quarter: Talk about a perfect safety valve for the Celtics. I trust him with the ball in those situations. He has no fear of the moment. Teams continue to try doubling Tatum and the more he has games like this, the more the word will get out that the strategy doesn't work. The more games White has like this, the less like teams will be to double Tatum. 

- Jayson Tatum controlling the game: He didn’t shoot well, but I thought he ran the offense well. This fourth-quarter box score doesn’t look great (one point, 0-5 shooting, one assist), but the way he moved the ball off double teams opened the offense up for White and the Celtics to do their thing. I don’t think White would have scored 14 in the fourth if Tatum wasn’t drawing the defense like he was. 

- Jaylen Brown’s start: He had everything going in the first quarter to set the tone … just how he likes to. He also did a nice job defensively throughout most of this game, even though he did have five fouls. 

- Al Horford: 13 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, three of them offensive, to go with a block and two assists. They needed that from Horford.

- Luke Kornet: He’s been great in his role. Three offensive rebounds, three assists, and part of the really good defense on Mobley.

- Payton Pritchard: Aside from the dumb four-point play he allowed, he hit some big shots and was part of a great night from the Boston bench. They outscored the Cavs bench 29-23. Kornet’s +10 was the lowest plus/minus on the second unit. 

- Rebounding: Again, not perfect, but they rebounded well for most of the game. They just lost Jarrett Allen (18 rebounds, six offensive) too often. But they did a good job otherwise.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Turnovers: Too many live-ball turnovers. The Cavs' defense is really good, so I'm not going to get too worked up about it, but giving up 19 points off 12 turnovers isn’t ideal. They actually forced one more turnover than they committed, but they lost the points off turnovers battle by six. 

HIGHLIGHTS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- I don’t fear Cleveland. 

I’m not going to make too much of this win, but it’s also Boston’s second win over the Cavs this year and the one loss required Donovan Mitchell to score 20 points on perfect shooting in the fourth quarter. 

Nothing I’ve seen this season changes my mind about this matchup. Boston has weaknesses they can exploit in any game. They won this thing even with terrible shooting from Tatum and Porzingis. The Cavs took the ball out of Tatum’s hands and White buried them. Brown wasn’t even out there at the end to be another option, which won’t happen in future matchups. 

I’ve said this before and I am sticking to it: I don’t care if Boston starts a series in Cleveland. I don’t even care if all seven games were in Cleveland. The Celtics are better, they own the matchups, and they should win any series if everyone is healthy. 

- It's probably nothing, but it’s interesting Jaylen Brown sat final 5:30 of the game. 

He had five fouls, so Mazzulla was probably trying to preserve him for the final push, but by then, the group on the floor had it going. There were chances for Brown to check in, but Mazzulla kept the group he had out there. 

Honestly, the way Brown had been playing earlier in the fourth, the fifth foul was a gift to Mazzulla. He could sit Brown for a while and when the team had it going, he could tell Brown that he was just going to roll with what was working. 

Brown can’t say anything. This was a huge win for Boston. The vibes are high. All he can do is be happy for his team and set the example that people are still sacrificing. 

I will say, though, that Mazzulla should note that he owes Brown one. Like, if Tatum is in a similar situation and Mazzulla can get away with it, he should probably even this out at some point just to prove to Brown that it can happen to anyone. 

- Fouling up six is smart.

I know this isn’t going to be popular because it slows the game down, but if the other team is inbounding in the final minute and you’re up six, giving the foul is a good idea because the two free throws still only makes it a two-possession game. If you can play the free throw game in that situation, then they’ll just run out of time. 

Just don’t foul a 3-point shooter, Payton Pritchard. 

Next up: The Celtics head home to face the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night