Game ID: 42300202
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics
Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 24 30 24 16 94CLE 30 24 36 28 118
BOS vs CLE ScoutingBOS vs CLE Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 4/27 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 5 min (36% of 15)
OUT Tillman missed 2 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 2 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 4/21, returns tonight: 1 min (13% of 10)
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 41 min since (112% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (105% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 32 min since (110% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 25 min since (89% of 28)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 28 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 4/29 · 1 day's restOUT Tillman missed 3 since 4/21, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 3 since 4/21, out tonight
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 40 min since (110% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (101% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 33 min since (101% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 30 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 24 min since (86% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 5 min since (36% of 15)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 1 min since (13% of 10)
NEW Pritchard 22 to 29 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 5/01 · 1 day's restOUT Tillman missed 4 since 4/21, returns tonight: 7 min (58% of 12)
OUT Queta missed 4 since 4/21, out tonight
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 40 min since (108% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (106% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 35 min since (106% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (90% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (95% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 4 min since (29% of 15)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 1 min since (13% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/07 · 5 days' restOUT Queta missed 5 since 4/21, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 11)
BACK Tatum back 4/21 after 2, 38 min since (104% of 37)
BACK Brown back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (99% of 34)
BACK Holiday back 4/21 after 2, 36 min since (105% of 34)
BACK White back 4/21 after 2, 34 min since (102% of 33)
BACK Porziņģis back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (90% of 29)
BACK Horford back 4/21 after 2, 26 min since (93% of 28)
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 9 min since (61% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 7 min since (58% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 3 min since (32% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 12 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 7 min since (59% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 3 min since (27% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 3 min since (31% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Kornet back 4/27 after 2, 12 min since (82% of 15)
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 4 min since (36% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 4/27 after 2, 4 min since (35% of 10)
BOS availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 5/01, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/01 after 4, 8 min since (69% of 12)
BACK Queta back 5/07 after 5, 4 min since (36% of 11)
BOS availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 5 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 2 since 5/11, out tonight
BOS availability going into 5/21 · 5 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 6 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 3 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 3 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
CLE availability going into 4/30 · 2 days' restOUT Wade missed 23 since 3/10, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 3, 10 min since (62% of 17)
BACK Morris Sr. back 4/14 after 2, 11 min since (75% of 15)
BACK Thompson back 4/14 after 3, 9 min since (86% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/03 · 2 days' restOUT Wade missed 24 since 3/10, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 4/20 after 3, 9 min since (55% of 17)
BACK Morris Sr. back 4/25 after 2, 14 min since (90% of 15)
BACK Thompson back 4/25 after 2, 8 min since (76% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/05 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 2 since 4/30, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 25 since 3/10, out tonight
BACK Morris Sr. back 4/25 after 2, 17 min since (112% of 15)
BACK Thompson back 4/25 after 2, 9 min since (85% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/07 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 3 since 4/30, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 26 since 3/10, out tonight
BACK Morris Sr. back 4/25 after 2, 15 min since (99% of 15)
BACK Thompson back 4/25 after 2, 9 min since (81% of 11)
CLE availability going into 5/09 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 4 since 4/30, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 27 since 3/10, out tonight
CLE availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 5 since 4/30, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 28 since 3/10, returns tonight: 17 min (82% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 6 since 4/30, out tonight
BACK Wade back 5/11 after 28, 17 min since (82% of 20)
NEW Mitchell 36 to 41 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Allen missed 7 since 4/30, out tonight
BACK Wade back 5/11 after 28, 21 min since (101% of 20)
NEW Mitchell 36 to 41 min over the last 4
NEW Eva. Mobley 32 to 36 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 92, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and White at 23 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (2 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 98 a night and allowing 106, shooting 45 percent and 29 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 34 and Garland at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. Without Allen (4 straight), Wade (27 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Cleveland minus-9 and the defense, Boston allowing 92 a night to Cleveland's 106. Call it Boston 112, Cleveland 102, Boston by 10.
4/27 @ MIA 104-84 — BOS notes
BOS won 104-84. BOS shot 48% (39 of 82) to MIA's 42%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 21 times to MIA's 14 — 15 points from the stripe to their 11. BOS turned it over 5 times to MIA's 12. Tatum led with 22 (6 of 16, 2 of 7 from three, 8 of 12 at the line); Brown added 22, Porziņģis 18. The hinge was Q2, 42-27: a lead of 9 became 24, and the lead reached 29. Holiday was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
4/29 @ MIA 102-88 — BOS notes
BOS won 102-88. BOS shot 42% (36 of 86) to MIA's 41%, 14 of 37 from three, and went to the line 18 times to MIA's 12 — 16 points from the stripe to their 9. White led with 38 (15 of 26, 8 of 15 from three); Tatum added 20, Brown 17. The hinge was Q1, 34-24: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 28. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
5/01 vs MIA 118-84 — BOS notes
BOS won 118-84. BOS shot 55% (42 of 77) to MIA's 41%, 16 of 40 from three, and went to the line 27 times to MIA's 10 — 18 points from the stripe to their 9. BOS turned it over 14 times to MIA's 6. The glass went 56-29 for them. White led with 25 (8 of 13, 5 of 10 from three); Brown added 25, Hauser 17. The hinge was Q1, 41-23: from level to 18 ahead, and the lead reached 37. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +35.
5/07 vs CLE 120-95 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-95. BOS shot 49% (45 of 92) to CLE's 41%, 18 of 46 from three. The glass went 55-38 for them. Brown led with 32 (12 of 18, 4 of 6 from three); White added 25, Tatum 18. The hinge was Q4, 28-18: a lead of 15 became 25. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
5/09 vs CLE 94-118 — BOS notes
BOS lost 94-118. BOS shot 41% (33 of 80) to CLE's 55%, 8 of 35 from three, and went to the line 24 times to CLE's 16 — 20 points from the stripe to their 11. The glass went 31-44 against them. Tatum led with 25 (7 of 17, 2 of 5 from three, 9 of 11 at the line); Brown added 19, Pritchard 13. Q2 was theirs, 30-24, the deficit cut from 6 to 0, but the other 3 periods went 94-64 against them. Brown's -29 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/11 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 103, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 36 and Garland at 17 a game. Without Allen (5 straight), Wade (28 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 94, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 23 and White at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland minus-4 and the defense, Boston allowing 94 a night to Cleveland's 103. Call it Boston 109, Cleveland 105, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/13 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 103, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 37 and Garland at 15 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Allen (6 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 96, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Porziņģis (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-5 and the defense, Boston allowing 96 a night to Cleveland's 103. Call it Boston 109, Cleveland 105, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/15 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 98, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (5 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 16 free throws a game; Mitchell at 34 and Eva. Mobley at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Allen (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Cleveland minus-6 and the defense, Boston allowing 98 a night to Cleveland's 105. Call it Boston 112, Cleveland 104.
5/21 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 101, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Porziņģis (6 straight). 5 days' rest. Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 106, shooting 54 percent and 43 from three, 15 free throws a game; Haliburton at 22 and Siakam at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Indiana plus-1 and the arc, Indiana at 43 percent from three to Boston's 37. Call it Boston 114, Indiana 110, Indiana keeping it close.
4/30 vs ORL 104-103 — CLE notes
CLE won 104-103. CLE shot 43% (38 of 88) to ORL's 46%, 13 of 37 from three, and got to the line 19 times to ORL's 29. Mitchell led with 28 (9 of 23, 1 of 7 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Garland added 23, Strus 16. The hinge was Q1, 33-23: from level to 10 ahead.
5/03 @ ORL 96-103 — CLE notes
CLE lost 96-103. CLE shot 49% (42 of 86) to ORL's 39%, 7 of 28 from three, and got to the line just 10 times against 23 fouls committed. The glass went 38-48 against them. Mitchell led with 50 (22 of 36, 3 of 9 from three, 3 of 6 at the line); Garland added 21, Strus 10. Q3 was theirs, 29-20, turning a 4-point deficit into a 5-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 83-67 against them. Strus's -7 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/05 vs ORL 106-94 — CLE notes
CLE won 106-94. CLE shot 44% (34 of 77) to ORL's 34%, 8 of 24 from three, and went to the line 36 times to ORL's 30 — 30 points from the stripe to their 26. Mitchell led with 39 (11 of 27, 2 of 8 from three, 15 of 17 at the line); LeVert added 15, Strus 13. The hinge was Q3, 33-15: CLE came in trailing by 10 and left it ahead by 8. CLE trailed 43-53 at the half and won the second half 63-41. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
5/07 @ BOS 95-120 — CLE notes
CLE lost 95-120. CLE shot 41% (37 of 90) to BOS's 49%, 11 of 42 from three. The glass went 38-55 against them. Mitchell led with 33 (12 of 25, 4 of 11 from three); Mobley added 17, Garland 14. Q2 was theirs, 15-19, but the other 3 periods went 101-80 against them. Mobley's -21 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/09 @ BOS 118-94 — CLE notes
CLE won 118-94. CLE shot 55% (47 of 86) to BOS's 41%, 13 of 28 from three, and got to the line 16 times to BOS's 24. The glass went 44-31 for them. Mitchell led with 29 (10 of 19, 5 of 7 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Mobley added 21, LeVert 21. The hinge was Q3, 36-24: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 29. Mitchell was the night's best plus/minus at +38.
5/11 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 103, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 36 and Garland at 17 a game. Without Allen (5 straight), Wade (28 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 94, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 23 and White at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland minus-4 and the defense, Boston allowing 94 a night to Cleveland's 103. Call it Boston 109, Cleveland 105, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/13 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 103, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 17 free throws a game; Mitchell at 37 and Garland at 15 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Allen (6 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 96, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Porziņģis (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-5 and the defense, Boston allowing 96 a night to Cleveland's 103. Call it Boston 109, Cleveland 105, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/15 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 98, shooting 49 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Tatum at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (5 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 16 free throws a game; Mitchell at 34 and Eva. Mobley at 17 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Allen (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Cleveland minus-6 and the defense, Boston allowing 98 a night to Cleveland's 105. Call it Boston 112, Cleveland 104.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
MM M. Morris Sr.
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JS J. Springer
JT J. Tatum
JW J. Walsh
LK L. Kornet
NQ N. Queta
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
SM S. Mykhailiuk
XT X. Tillman
CLE/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Mitchell's 29 points help Cavaliers blow out Celtics 118-94, tie series at 1 game apiece
BOSTON -- — Donovan Mitchell banked in a 3-pointer from a few steps beyond the top of the arc and could only shrug as he backpedaled back on defense. He followed with two baskets in the lane to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 16-point lead.
"Sometimes you get lucky," Mitchell said after scoring 29 points to help Cleveland beat Boston 118-94 on Thursday night. “Shooters shoot.”
Two nights after losing the opener by 25 points , the Cavaliers answered with a blowout of their own, beating the top-seeded Celtics in Boston to tie their Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece. The teams now head to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.
“We expected them to play better and they did," Celtics center Al Horford said. "They responded and we didn’t.”
Mitchell scored 33 points in the opener but got little help . On Thursday, the Cavs All-Star took just six shots and scored six points in the first half, while handing out five assists. Mitchell had 16 points in the third quarter and hit three straight baskets to start the fourth, including the 28-footer off the glass.
“I hadn’t shot much, trying to find ways to get guys involved early, and picking my spots. I was just continuing to find ways to apply pressure on them,” said Mitchell, who finished with eight assists and seven rebounds.
“In the second half it was scoring,” he said. “Sometimes it’s assists. Sometimes it’s rebounds. Whatever it takes. And when it was time to go, it’s time to go. I knew at some point I was going to have to start, obviously, shooting.”
Jayson Tatum scored 25 for Boston, and Jaylen Brown added 19 points. But Derrick White , whose 25 points in Game 1 helped the Celtics coast to a 120-95 win, managed just 10 points, missing seven of his eight 3-point tries.
With the win, the Cavaliers assured themselves of at least a fifth game back in Boston on Wednesday. And after finally getting their first road win in this postseason, they showed that they can win there.
“When we defend the way we defended and our shots fall, what we do travels,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And we can win anywhere.”
Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double, and his fifth of this postseason. Caris LeVert scored 21 off the bench for Cleveland, hitting a pull-up jumper midway through the fourth quarter that gave the Cavaliers a 20-point lead and started a parade of fans to the exits. Many of those who stayed began booing.
A minute later, after the Celtics missed another 3-pointer – they were 8 for 35 from long distance in all -- LeVert made a layup and drew a flagrant foul from Tatum. It was a 25-point game, and Boston coach Joe Mazzulla emptied his bench.
Bickerstaff followed soon after, getting some rest for Mitchell, who played a game-high 37 minutes on Tuesday night but was on the bench for the 10-2 Celtics run to start the fourth that blew open the game.
Mitchell hit four of his five 3-point attempts in the third quarter to help Cleveland extend its lead to as many as 14 points. And he remained in the game at the start of the fourth and until the game was put away, with Cleveland up 27 and four minutes left.
“At halftime I was just like, ’I don’t plan on coming out.' That was the mindset,” Mitchell said. "He asked me if I needed (a break) and I was like, ‘I’m good.’”
According to ESPN , the 24-point win was the biggest in the playoffs by a since 1991.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with a strained calf muscle. Mobley started at center in place of Jarrett Allen , who has missed five straight games with bruised ribs, and reached a career playoff high in points.
Mobley scored 11 in the first quarter, when the Cavaliers quickly fell behind by nine – giving the vibes of a second straight blowout. But Cleveland ran off 11 points in a row – eight from LeVert. Boston went ahead by eight in the second before the Cavs sent it into halftime tied.
Tatum had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists at the half, and Mobley had 15, seven, and five.