A couple of weeks ago, the Cavaliers came back in the fourth quarter against the Celtics but fell just short in a showdown of the top two teams in the East. Donovan Mitchell was not going to let that happen twice.
Cleveland trailed by a dozen early in the fourth quarter but were sparked by Mitchell, who scored 20 in the final frame while knocking down four 3-pointers, and Cleveland came back for a 115-111 win at home.
Mitchell finished with 35 points and seven boards, while Darius Garland scored 22 and dished out eight assists. Cleveland got a huge boost from George Niang off the bench with 13 points and some clutch buckets late. The Cavaliers also showed off how good their defense can be.
Jayson Tatum had 33 to lead the Celtics, Peyton Pritchard scored 24 off the bench, and Kristaps Porzingis added 21 with eight rebounds.
This was a quality win for Cleveland, just don’t mistake it for a playoff preview Boston was without two starters in Jaylen Brown and Derrick White (the Cavaliers remain without Max Strus and Dean Wade), plus both of these teams will evolve over the remaining four-and-a-half months of the NBA season. That said, these two talented, physical teams facing off in May in a seven-game series would be something to see.