The Boston Celtics are close to wrapping things up in their second-round matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers,
They pushed the Cavs to the brink of elimination from title contention with a 109-102 win on the road versus the injury-riddled Cleveland side that did not have both guard Donovan Mitchell and big man Jarrett Allen. But despite the Cavs missing two of their top weapons, they still managed to be competitive against the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla even praised the Cavs for playing incredibly well even without Mitchell, who has been the biggest single thorn in Boston’s side in this series.
“They’re a really good team… not surprised at all by how good they played, and I bet they played even better in the next game,” Mazzulla said after the game (h/t Noa Dalzell of the CelticsBlog).
The Cavs were led in Game 4 by Darius Garland, who put up 30 points on 12/27 shooting from the floor. Caris LeVert moved to the starting unit in lieu of Mitchell and fired 19 points, but was just 1/8 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who generated 33 and 27 points, respectively.
With or without Mitchell in uniform for the Cavaliers this Wednesday in Boston, the Celtics are the favorites to win that contest.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!