Celtics’ troubling trend: Taking their foot off the gas in Game 2
The Boston Celtics are once again following a troubling script in the second round of the playoffs.
Boston opened its firstround series against Miami with a dominating Game 1 win and followed it up with a lackluster effort in Game 2.
That pattern repeated itself during the Celtics’ 118-94 Game 2 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Almost everything Boston did well in a 25-point victory in Game 1 — knock down three-pointers, defend and rebound — was flipped by the Cavaliers in Game 2.
The Cavaliers held advantages in three-point shooting (plus-15 points), points in the paint (60-34), rebounds (44-31) and even fast-break points (14-8).
Most troubling, though, was the Celtics’ performance from beyond the arc.
Boston went eight of 35 from beyond the three-point line (22.9%), including two for 18 in the second half. Cleveland finished 13 for 28 (46.4%).
“It was just a bad game,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight. But defensively that was unacceptable.”
Brown and fellow AllStar Jayson Tatum both shot seven for 17 from the field, scoring 19 and 25 points, respectively.
As bad a night as the Celtics had, they were very much in the game entering the second half.
The score was knotted at 54-all at halftime. Then Cleveland went to work in the third quarter, getting 16 points from Donovan Mitchell and going seven for 10 from beyond the threepoint line. It helped the Cavaliers outscore the Celtics 36-24 in the period.
Cleveland started the fourth quarter on a 12-5 run to push its lead to 102-83 with less than nine minutes to play.
Brown said he expected the film review of the game to be revealing on a night in which he said the Cavaliers were more assertive across the board. That almost certainly will include a long look at how they can better contain center Evan Mobley.
Mobley continued to fill in for Cleveland center Jarrett Allen, who sat out Game 2, and five consecutive games overall, as he continues to deal with bruised ribs he sustained in the first round against Orlando.
Mobley came out more aggressive on the inside early with Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis remaining sidelined because of a strained right calf.
Mobley had 11 points in the first quarter. It included eight of Cleveland’s 22 points in the paint and helped the Cavaliers take a 30-24 lead into the second. He finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, his third straight double-double.
Then there’s Mitchell, who finished with 29 points and eight assists after 33 points in Game 1.
Brown said any hopes of bouncing back in Game 3 on Saturday must also start with doing a better job containing him.
Thursday’s other late playoff game
Luka Doncic rebounded from a poor opening performance to score 29 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists, helping Dallas beat Oklahoma City 119-110 and even the Western Conference semifinals at one win apiece.
“I think that was one of the hardest games I’ve had to play,” Doncic said.
P.J. Washington added 29 points and 11 rebounds and made seven of 11 threepointers for the Mavericks. He averaged 12.9 points this season.
“I thought P.J. set the tone,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “We played through him a little bit in the post and I think that sparked him. He was big for us tonight.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Jalen Williams added 20 points for the Thunder, who lost for the first time in the postseason and gave up more than 100 points for the first time in their six playoff games.
The Mavericks played with desperation, just as they did in the first round when they beat the Clippers in Game 2 and took home court from them.