10 takeaways from Boston’s shorthanded loss to Cleveland

#1 – Mitchell and Tatum break out in the second half

The first half wasn’t good for either of the game’s two biggest stars. Jayson Tatum was 1 of 5 on 3-point attempts and 4 of 12 from the field, scoring 12 points in the first half, while Donovan Mitchell struggled to find any success, shooting 2 of 8 from the field and 1 of 4 from the line, scoring just five points and two assists.

The opening minutes of the second half told a different story, with the stars shining brightest and taking over the game en route to an entertaining finish between the East’s top two teams.

Tatum and Mitchell exchanged three-pointers right in front of the goal, followed by a successful throw to the finish line by Tatum and an acrobatic layup by Mitchell. Tatum scored Boston’s first eight points of the quarter and took over third with 17 of his 33 points on 6-of-8 shooting, converting all three of his 3-point attempts.

Then Mitchell took over (more on that in a moment). It was the kind of takeover that requires a shrug and perhaps a prayer. We’ve seen it before, we’ll see it again. If Mitchell gets a favorable switch and room to operate, the best thing you can do is stay in front, put a hand up and hope a step back doesn’t prove fatal. On Sunday evening the time had come and it was just enough for the Celtics to suffer their first defeat in 19 days.

#2 – Tatum continues to chase Garland

Jayson Really likes the Darius-Garland matchup. That was evident in their NBA Cup match, as the Celtics narrowed the hunt for the Cavs’ guard, who was fighting through a big break on offense. Things got back to business in the rematch.

In two games and five minutes of matchup time, Tatum has scored more points against Garland than in any other matchup he has faced this season, shooting 8 of 19 and scoring 18 points in those transitions. It played a big role in Tatum’s second-half performance, in which five of his eight field goals came via the Garland switch.

Tatum scored 11 points in the second half against Garland, including seven in the third quarter. He particularly liked putting Garland on an island near the left elbow, where Tatum would bully the 6-foot-2 guard.

It all led to one final duel between the two with 50 seconds left and the Cavaliers leading 103-101. Tatum once again got the matchup he wanted, switching to his right hand and pressing his shoulder into Garland for a good layup attempt that bounced off the rim and bounced out.

That’s a shot Tatum doesn’t often miss, but in this case it was a game-changing score on a play where Tatum did everything right in a favorable matchup.

#3 – Pritchard beats Jerome in the battle of 6MOTY competitors

Payton Pritchard is considered the punters’ favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season, and rightly so. That hasn’t stopped Cleveland fans from emphatically throwing “For Your Consideration” campaigns for UVA product Ty Jerome on social media.

What began as a slow evening for everyone involved in a duel of top scorers on the bench soon turned into another productive outing from Pritchard, who went 2-for-8 in the first half followed by 19 points in the second half completed, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter. Jerome, meanwhile, played just 11 minutes and finished with six points on 1-of-4 shooting. It was his third shortest appearance this season.

This duel was clearly visible at the start of the third period, with Pritchard driving past Jerome twice and both finishing with layups.

At the end, with the Celtics playing from behind, Pritchard kept hope alive with his free throw and a three-pointer with 15 seconds left. It was Pritchard’s third straight game with more than 20 points.

#4 – Drew Peterson cracks the rotation

Entering Sunday night, Drew Peterson had only logged 30 minutes in the NBA, including seven this season. Against Cleveland, Peterson finished the game with 25 minutes, making him the second-best player off the bench behind Payton Pritchard.

With the team shorthanded and on the first night of a meeting, Joe Mazzulla turned to the forward on a two-way contract and he held his own, finishing the game with eight points on 2 of 6 shooting to go along with four rebounds and one steal.

While Peterson was initially hesitant with the ball, he eventually found some confidence to shoot, making an uncatched three-pointer in the second quarter and another in the third quarter on a drive-and-kick play by Jayson Tatum.

Peterson played strong defense, particularly on a possession where he stayed in front of Mitchell and drew an offensive foul with 7:16 to play.

With 7 seconds left, his efforts to protect Darius Garland’s face on an inbounds play should not go unnoticed. His defense contributed to Cleveland having to call a timeout, and it showcased good performance from a player who made his minutes count.

His night wasn’t anything spectacular, but Peterson held his own when given the chance, making it one of the more interesting narratives of the game.

#5 – The Celtics are struggling to score in the paint

It was a tough night inside the restricted zone for the Celtics, who shot just 44% from inside 4 feet. Much of that trouble came from Jrue Holiday (1-for-4 inside 4 feet) and Jayson Tatum (2-for-6), who had little trouble getting into those looks but struggled to convert them.

It was a particularly tough night for Holiday, who shot 2 of 9 overall and was caught in difficult spots around the basket several times.

Lacking two effective finishers in the brown and white didn’t help, but the interior presence of Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and even Isaac Okoro thwarted many of Boston’s attacks to the rim and made it a poor night of effective converting for a Celtics team short distance.

#6 – Cavs successfully attacked the paint

The flip side of the latter finding was that Cleveland was much more effective in his looks near the basket, finishing on 54% of those looks and 50% between 4 and 14 feet. It’s not an elite piece by any means, but moving forward it was an area where the Cavs were able to execute successfully.

After hitting three straight 3-pointers in the middle of his fourth-quarter heat, Mitchell broke the tie with an 8-foot floater off a Horford switch and then found Okoro on the throw, dropping off to a cutting Mobley for one Two-possession ended lead.

Questionable rim protection was common in Boston’s games before Porzingis, but it was again an area that the Cavs exploited down the stretch and helped them win.

#7 – Mazzulla sticks with an eight-man rotation (mostly).

Aside from a seven-second appearance by Jaden Springer late in the game, the Celtics were left with an eight-man rotation with two starters. That meant more than 30 minutes for Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, both of whom were able to get some rest at the end of the team’s back-to-back matchup.

With Drew Peterson, Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard off the bench, we saw the team rely primarily on a combination of double-big lineups, starting with the Porzingis/Horford pairing before moving to the Kornet frontcourt /Horford and Kornet/Porzingis expanded.

The most successful combination was the starting five of Holiday/Hauser/Tatum/Horford/Porzingis, who played a team best of 11:53 thanks to respectable shooting nights and shot +7 and 8 of 15 from distance. Hauser, Tatum and Porzingis. It’s a lineup that makes sense as a potential playoff rotation and one worth keeping an eye on when Porzingis is back on the field.

#8 – Fourth quarter defense gives up 43 points

Boston’s fourth quarter defense has been mediocre this season, posting a defensive rating of 112.2 in the quarter (16th in the league). Free throws late in the game certainly played a role last night, but Boston’s defense struggled to keep up with Mitchell’s searing heat and accompanying gravity, and the Cavs erased a 12-point deficit to take the lead with 1:07 left.

There was only so much they could do as Mitchell took advantage of his stepback that beat Sam Hauser twice in the fourth quarter.

Without the support of White or Brown in that task, it’s difficult to be under too much pressure, but a 43-point quarter given up in a four-point game is a tough pill to swallow for the league’s eighth-best defense .

#9 – Cavs win the foul play

The pace of the game slowed to a complete standstill in the final 34 seconds of the fourth quarter after Evan Mobley cut from the dunker spot and completed a dunk that gave the Cavaliers a four-point lead. From there, those final seconds turned into nearly 20 minutes of real time as the Celtics and Cavs challenged each other to a good old-fashioned free throw bonanza.

Neither team flinched under the pressure, with the Celtics shooting 7-for-7 before an intentional miss by Pritchard resulted in a lane violation. The Cavaliers never made a mistake themselves, scoring on all ten attempts to ice the game and secure the victory. Despite a break from Mitchell at the line, Cleveland was able to capitalize on their attempts, scoring 20 of 25 on the night (80%), a slight increase from their 79% shooting this season.

The Celtics kept the door open to a possible last chance to extend or win the game through their own effort, but the Cavaliers dominated the charity stripe when it mattered most.

#10 – Derrick White’s fourth quarter heroics were missed

It cannot be overstated how important Derrick White is to Boston’s success. Well, maybe you can overstate it, but that’s just an indication of how incredibly effective White is in the game until the end.

The Celtics are 7-3 in games where crucial minutes come, with White a +18 and shooting 50% from three in those situations. Overall, the Celtics are 6-4 over the last two seasons without White on the field. These four losses totaled 14 points.

Whether it’s a well-timed 3-pointer, a stunning block, or a drive-and-kick pass that forces a rotation, when White plays late in the game, the Celtics are simply better off.