Celtics Win Game Four Despite Worthy Performance from Motivated Cavs
Cleveland - Even with King James in attendance, it wasn’t enough of a story builder for the Cavs to knock off the upset. With Donovan Mitchell being ruled out, due to a calf injury, the Cavs were without their all-star in Game Four. They put up a worthy performance, led by Garland’s 30 points, but it still wasn’t enough. For the second straight game, Tatum and Brown combined for at least 60 points. This was the first time all playoffs that the Celtics won by single digits with all of their other wins coming by 10 or more points. The Celtics are now only one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Max Strus, who has not played well all series, got the party started with a three-pointer from the top of the key. He is an essential piece to the Cavs offense, especially without having Mitchell on the court. The Celtics responded with a 19-2 run to quite the rowdy Cavalier crowd. After hitting three out of their first four shots, the Cavs were not able to get anything going for a while. Sam Merrill and Georges Niang provided some nice, unexpected value off the bench for the Cavs, combining for three three-pointers. Meanwhile, for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum was scoring with ease. The NBA Finals MVP frontrunner scored 16 opening quarter points. The frustrations of playing competitive sports were showcased early as Strus picked up a technical foul for arguing a very clear foul. At the end of one, the Celtics held the lead 37-30.
With a starting lineup spot needed to be filled, Caris Levert stepped up to the role. He was tasked with filling in Mitchell’s production on the offensive end of the floor. Tempers were beginning to flare even more drastically as it looked like Jaylen Brown grabbed the ankle of Strus and tripped him. After a review, it was deemed that it was a common foul and there were no excessive fouls called. After going on a 13-2 run, led by Strus, the Cavs had minimized the lead to just two points. The prodigious three-point shooting was truly remarkable as they made more threes in the first half of Game Four than any game in the Postseason. As if the first half didn’t have enough drama, Tatum picked up a technical foul of his own for arguing with the referees over a missed foul call. A very entertaining first half came to a close as the Celtics held a five-point lead, 62-57, going into the break.
The Cavs took their first lead at the 8:58 mark in the third quarter since the score read 8-5 in their favor. Darius Garland took control of the game and the offensive was flowing without fault. The momentum started to switch when Jaylen Brown finished an extremely acrobatic and-one layup, finishing with his offhand while his right arm was tucked away by a Cavalier. As Spero Dedes said, “The grease is getting hot and Jaylen Brown is sizzling”. That was the ultimate announcer's jinx as moments later, Brown picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit. To make matters even worse, Derrick White limped off the court and headed back to the locker room for a short while before returning back to the bench. He was later substituted back into the game with only a minute left in the quarter. A Payton Pritchard step-back three signaled the end of a thrilling third quarter with the Celtics leading 88-78.
An aggressive Jayson Tatum is almost impossible to stop. There was not a single Cavalier that could penetrate the zone that Tatum was locked into. Aside from Tatum’s exceptional performance, Jrue Holiday was playing with his killer instinct. The former Defensive Player of the Year award winner was putting on his best offensive performance. Holiday finished with 16 points and countless defensive plays that won’t show up in the box score. Even when you thought the Cavs were done, they would keep throwing punches. With less than six minutes to go, they went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead down to seven. Darius Garland was doing everything he could to lead his team on a comeback. Two crucial coach’s challenges were used, one by each team, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Both were deemed successful which pointed out some of the poor officiating that went on throughout the game. Jaylen Brown’s dagger from beyond the arc signaled that the game was all but over. With only 1:07 left, the Celtics led by eight. In the end, the Celtics will head back to Boston with a 3-1 series lead with their 109-102 victory.
