Game ID: 42300204
Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Monday, May 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 30 27 21 24 102BOS 37 25 26 21 109
BOS @ CLE ScoutingBOS @ 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.
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
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
BOS availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 7 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Tillman missed 4 since 5/11, returns tonight: 3 min (26% of 12)
OUT Queta missed 4 since 5/11, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 3 since 5/13, returns tonight: 12 min (116% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Horford 28 to 34 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 8 since 5/01, out tonight
OUT Queta missed 5 since 5/11, out tonight
BACK Tillman back 5/23 after 4, 3 min since (26% of 12)
BACK Brissett back 5/23 after 3, 12 min since (116% of 10)
NEW Tatum 37 to 43 min over the last 5
NEW Brown 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 34 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Horford 28 to 33 min over the last 5
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.
5/05 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 93-106 — CLE notes
CLE lost 93-106. CLE shot 43% (36 of 84) to BOS's 51%, 12 of 36 from three. Mitchell led with 33 (12 of 22, 7 of 12 from three); Mobley added 17, Garland 15. Q4 was theirs, 24-22, the deficit cut from 15 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 84-69 against them. Garland's -17 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/13 vs BOS 102-109 — CLE notes
CLE lost 102-109. CLE took 16 more shots (94 to 78), but shot 44% to BOS's 49%, 15 of 48 from three, and got to the line 7 times to BOS's 24. CLE turned it over 7 times to BOS's 14. The glass went 32-48 against them. Garland led with 30 (12 of 27, 4 of 13 from three); Mobley added 19, LeVert 19. Q4 was theirs, 24-21, the deficit cut from 10 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 88-78 against them. LeVert's -14 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
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.
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 106-93 — BOS notes
BOS won 106-93. BOS shot 51% (41 of 80) to CLE's 43%, 13 of 34 from three. Tatum led with 33 (11 of 25, 2 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 28, Holiday 18. The hinge was Q2, 27-20: a lead of 2 became 9, and the lead reached 23. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
5/13 @ CLE 109-102 — BOS notes
BOS won 109-102. BOS shot 49% (38 of 78) to CLE's 44%, 12 of 32 from three, and went to the line 24 times to CLE's 7 — 21 points from the stripe to their 5. BOS turned it over 14 times to CLE's 7, and CLE turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 48-32 for them. Tatum led with 33 (11 of 25, 2 of 8 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 27, Holiday 16. The hinge was Q1, 37-30: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Horford was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
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.
5/23 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 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (7 straight). One day's rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 111, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 14 free throws a game; Siakam at 21 and Haliburton at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Indiana at 43 percent from three to Boston's 35 and the line, where Boston takes 21 free throws a game to Indiana's 14. Call it Boston 116, Indiana 113, Indiana keeping it close.
5/25 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 118, shooting 54 percent and 41 from three, 15 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Haliburton at 18 a game. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 106, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 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 Indiana minus-2 and the defense, Boston allowing 106 a night to Indiana's 118. Call it Boston 117, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECL C. LeVert
DG D. Garland
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
IO I. Okoro
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
TT T. Thompson
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
LK L. Kornet
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
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
Jayson Tatum's 33 points help Celtics down short-handed Cavaliers 109-102 to take 3-1 lead in semis
CLEVELAND -- — Even when it's supposed to be somewhat easy, the Boston Celtics have a weird way of making things hard.
On Monday night, they nearly stumbled against an overmatched Cleveland team.
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Jaylen Brown added 27 for the Celtics, who can close out Cleveland with a win in Game 5 on Wednesday night at home.
“It took us a little while to get going, and stop ball watching and play some basketball,” Brown said.
Game 6, if necessary, would be back at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday.
The Cavs got pushed to the brink of elimination with two top players in street clothes on the bench, as Donovan Mitchell (calf) and Jarrett Allen (ribs) sat out with injuries. Their status going forward is uncertain.
It was nothing new for a Cleveland team that dealt with injuries all season, but it was a big ask for the Cavs to try and survive without Mitchell, their All-Star guard who has carried the offensive load throughout the postseason, or Allen, their leading rebounder.
Still, the Cavs gave the top-seeded Celtics, who have shown a tendency to relax at the wrong time, all they could handle.
“They laid it all out there,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of his team. “They gave us everything that they had. They competed at a high level. They played the game properly. I’m proud of the guys, the way they went out and scrapped and competed and gave ourselves a chance.”
Tatum had his second straight strong performance, adding 11 rebounds and five assists. Jrue Holiday had 16 points for Boston, which improved to 4-0 away from home in the postseason.
“There's no better feeling than winning a playoff game on the road,” Tatum said. “Tough environment and the crowd was great. Now, it's time to go back to Boston and play well in front of our fans and give them something to cheer for.”
Darius Garland scored 30 and Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert 19 apiece for the Cavs, who stayed connected with the Celtics and only trailed by 10 going into the fourth.
Boston went up 15 on a jumper by Brown, but Cleveland responded with a 10-2 run as Garland and Dean Wade made 3-pointers.
The Cavs were still within 102-97 when Max Strus missed a 3-pointer that would have put immense pressure on the Celtics, but Brown buried a 3 — after colliding with official Tyler Ford — with 1:08 left to give Boston some breathing room.
Brown said Ford nearly cost the Celtics dearly by getting in his way.
“I thought he had an effect on the play,” Brown said. “You've got to be more aware. But the shot went in, so it's a non-story.”
The Cavs felt the discrepancy at the free-throw line — Boston attempted 24 free throws to Cleveland's seven -- was a major element.
"That's ridiculous,” Garland said. “It's tough to get just seven free throws. I know how many times I get hit and how many times my teammates get hit. It's tough.”
James, who played 11 seasons in two separate stints for Cleveland, was back in his former home arena — a visit certain to drive speculation about where he might play next.
The NBA's career scoring leader can opt out of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this summer, and James has said he's not made any firm decisions.
The 39-year-old sat across from Boston's bench in between his wife, Savannah, and agent Rich Paul. James got a monstrous ovation from Cleveland's crowd when he was shown on the scoreboard during a timeout in the first quarter.
Despite dealing with a left knee injury for months, Mitchell averaged 29.6 points in the first 10 playoff games — scoring 50 in a Game 6 loss to Orlando.
He injured his calf in the waning moments of Cleveland's loss in Game 3 on Saturday and was added to the injury report as questionable on Sunday. Mitchell underwent round-the-clock treatment but didn't have enough time to heal.
The five-time All-Star didn't comment following the game, nodding politely on his way out of the locker room.
Allen sat out the seventh straight game with a painful injury the center sustained in the opening round.
With Holiday scoring seven straight points, the Celtics went ahead by 13 in the second quarter and appeared ready to run away from the Cavs.
But Cleveland stormed back as Strus, who has struggled with his outside shot throughout the playoffs, made consecutive 3-pointers in a 13-3 run that helped the Cavs close within 62-57 at halftime.
Boston's center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fifth straight game, but the Celtics were encouraged he was able to do some on-court work.