Four takeaways as Boston Celtics blow huge lead, collapse to Cleveland Cavaliers in 91-89 loss
Updated: Nov. 13, 2021, 10:33 p.m. | Published: Nov. 13, 2021, 10:24 p.m.
Boston Celtics' Romeo Langford, center, grabs a rebound ahead of Cleveland Cavaliers' Dylan Windler, left, and Cleveland Cavaliers' Cedi Osman in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)AP
By Souichi Terada | sterada@masslive.com
The Celtics looked like they were going to comfortably put away an upstart Cavaliers team that looked a little too inefficient during the first half. But a game-changing Cleveland run in the fourth quarter turned a laugher into a close back-and-forth.
Then the Celtics went ice cold. The C's saw their lead grow to all of 19 points, but they squandered every single part of that massive advantage. Boston fell back to the sub-.500 mark as it lost 91-89 on Saturday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers went on a huge 17-0 run that spanned the third and fourth quarters, eventually taking the lead. They finished the game on a commanding 35-15 run to hand the Celtics the loss. Dennis Schröder had a look to tie it in the final seconds, but it hit the back of the rim, sealing the Celtics' loss.
Schröder led the C's with 28 points, but there were still some rough parts to his game. Jayson Tatum had 21 points while Robert Williams III added 12 points and 16 rebounds. Darius Garland led Cleveland with 22 points and six assists.
The Celtics were without three rotation players Saturday: Al Horford, Josh Richardson and Jaylen Brown. Horford and Richardson were both questionable going into the game, though they weren't able to go Saturday. They're both expected to play in Monday's rematch against the Cavaliers; there's still no update on Brown's strained hamstring.
Here are four takeaways from Boston's loss to Cleveland:
Celtics go cold, collapse
When the Celtics were looking to close out the Cavaliers, they just needed to keep them at an arm's length going into the fourth quarter. But that wasn't the case when the Cavs went on their huge run to reclaim the lead. The Celtics went ice-cold during the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers came right back during the game.
That meant a wild finish. The Celtics have had plenty of close games recently, including their overtime win over the Bucks on Friday. But they weren't able to pull out the game Saturday.
It was similar to the loss to the Bulls when a late collapse meant another loss on their record. While it'll go down as another close, winnable loss, the Celtics weren't able to execute down the stretch to close out the win.
Defense stepped up
While the Cavaliers went on their huge run in the second half, the defense was still stout for most of the game. The Celtics limited the Cavs to just nine points in the first quarter, including keeping them scoreless for the final 7:16 of that frame. But it was a 29-point fourth quarter that spelled doom for the C's, though only scoring 15 points in the fourth was also their faults.
It was the type of defense the Celtics have hung their hats on in recent games. That effort continued for the first three quarters of the game — but it was the final quarter the Celtics desperately needed to step up. But the Celtics weren't able to make enough stops and shots in the final few seconds as the Cavs had just a bit more juice.
Schröder heats up, but some ugliness
As if 38 points and multiple huge overtime buckets Friday weren't enough for Schröder, he followed that up with an impressive encore Saturday. At one point in the second quarter, he scored 11 straight points for Boston as he was in his bag.
This is the type of scorer the Celtics expected when they signed him to the bargain deal during free agency. But there was the uglier side of Schröder during the fourth quarter. When the Celtics were desperately looking for a bucket, he had some turnovers that aided the Cavaliers on their run. While Schröder led the C's in scoring, it's the other parts of his game that were on display Friday.
Schröder also missed the final shot of the game, looking to tie it on a midrange shot. But it didn't go down.
It's a bit more rare this season, but the Celtics have two-straight games in Cleveland this season. Udoka said he likes it as it cuts down on travel.
The C's had a similar concept earlier this season when they hosted then traveled to face the Wizards for two-straight games. But that was different because of the change in venue. Regardless, the Celtics get a chance at revenge Monday.