A few weeks ago, the Cavaliers came back in the fourth quarter against the Celtics, but fell short in a matchup between the two best teams in the East. Donovan Mitchell didn’t let that happen twice.
Cleveland trailed by a dozen early in the fourth quarter, but was sparked by Mitchell, who scored 20 in the final frame while knocking down four 3-pointers, and Cleveland came back to win at home 115-111.
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 layups. The Cavaliers also showed 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.
It was a quality win for Cleveland, just don’t mistake it for a playoff preview — Boston was missing two starters, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White (the Cavaliers are without Max Strus and Dean Wade), and both of these teams will continue to develop. four and a half months of the NBA season remaining. That said, these two talented, physical teams going head-to-head in May in a seven-game series would be something to behold.