Cleveland deals tired Boston its third straight loss
Lamar Stevens spent three quarters watching and waiting for his turn. When it finally came, he didn’t waste a second.
Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points and Stevens fueled Cleveland’s fourth-quarter comeback with his hustle, leading the host Cavaliers to a 118-114 win Monday night over the Boston Celtics, who lost their second game in overtime in less than 24 hours and their third in a row.
Evan Mobley added 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who improved to 7-0 in overtime while avenging a loss in Boston five days ago. Cleveland trailed by 14 points entering the fourth quarter before Stevens, who averages just 12 minutes, entered and turned the game around.
“There is no way we win that game without Lamar,” Cavaliers Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “He changed the tone, the physicality, the effort.”
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Malcolm Brogdon had 24 for the Celtics, who didn’t arrive at their hotel in Cleveland until 2:30 a.m. after losing to the New
York Knicks in double overtime Sunday.
Boston, which was without AllStar Game MVP Jayson Tatum, had a chance to win it in regulation. But Grant Williams missed two free throws with 0.8 seconds left, and Marcus Smart barely missed a tip-in at the horn.
Williams had confidently told Mitchell he was going to make both shots before his misfires.
“He gave us both, but I didn’t box out Marcus Smart for the tip, and that’s what I’m thinking about,” Mitchell said. “Thank God he missed ’em and we got the win.”
After playing just nine seconds in the first three quarters, Stevens came off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds and scored eight points. He had a three-pointer with 2:14 remaining in overtime to put Cleveland ahead for good at 114-112.
Brown didn’t make any excuses after the Celtics lost for the fourth time in five games.
“There were some key vital plays that we missed, but we can’t blame fatigue,” said Brown, who played 45 minutes after logging 47 on Sunday. “I wish one of the games had turned into a win. If I’ve got to play 47 minutes the next game, I’m down with it.”
• 76ERS 147, PACERS 143: In Indianapolis, Joel Embiid scored 42 points; James Harden added 14 points, 20 assists and nine rebounds; and Philadelphia pulled away late for a victory over Indiana in an entertaining game devoid of defense.
Embiid made 11 of 16 field goals and all 19 free throw attempts. Tyrese Maxey scored 24 points and Jalen Mcdaniels added 20 for the 76ers, who have won two in a row.
• NUGGETS 118, RAPTORS 113: Jamal Murray had 24 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 20, and Denver scored the last six points to pull out a victory over visiting Toronto.
Aaron Gordon added 19 points for the Nuggets, who have won 24 of their past 25 home games, including nine in a row. Nikola Jokic had 17 points and 13 rebounds as he finished an assist shy of another triple-double.
• HEAT 130, HAWKS 128: Jimmy Butler had 26 points, Victor Oladipo and Caleb Martin each scored 21 off the bench, and Miami held off Atlanta at home.
Butler also had nine rebounds and nine assists for the Heat, which swept a two-game set with the Hawks. Bam Adebayo scored 16 points, and Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson each had 14.
• TRAIL BLAZERS 110, PISTONS 104: Damian Lillard had 31 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists, securing his second tripledouble of the season in the third quarter, and Portland won in Detroit.
The dynamic guard scored 16 points in the first quarter to give the Trail Blazers a 31-18 lead, and they had little trouble keeping a comfortable margin against a banged-up and slumping opponent for most of the night.
League dings Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo said he stole a triple-double. The NBA decided to take it back.
The league adjusted the statistics from the Milwaukee Bucks’ 117-111 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday night and erased Antetokounmpo’s final rebound, which would have given him a triple-double.
Antetokounmpo grabbed a defensive rebound — his ninth board of the game — with about nine seconds left. He hustled the ball downcourt, got near the rim the Bucks were shooting at, then hesitated for a moment before throwing the ball intentionally into the bottom of the rim and catching it.
“Kind of stole one,” he acknowledged Sunday night.
On-site statisticians credited him with a missed shot and a 10th rebound on that play. The NBA reviews all stats from each game and regularly makes changes to correct errors or omissions, and it pulled the final rebound Monday.