Poor defense, cold shooting trip up Celtics in Game 2 loss to Cavaliers

Updated May. 9, 2024 11:09 p.m. ET

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BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are once again following a troubling script in the second round of the playoffs.

Boston opened its first-round series against Miami with a dominating Game 1 win and followed it up with a lackluster effort in Game 2.

That pattern repeated itself during the Celtics’ 118-94 Game 2 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night.

Almost everything Boston did well in a 25-point victory in Game 1 – knock down 3-pointers, defend and rebound — was flipped by the Cavaliers in Game 2.

The Cavs held advantages in 3-point shooting (plus-15 points), points in the paint (60-34), rebounds (44-31) and even fast-break points (14-8).

Most troubling, though, was the Celtics' performance from beyond the arc.

Boston went 8 of 35 from the 3-point line (22.9%), including 2 of 18 in the second half. Cleveland finished 13 of 28 (46.4%). Teams are now 103-6 this season when holding a plus-20 percentage points advantage from 3.

“I think it was just a bad game," Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. "Obviously, we didn’t shoot the ball well tonight. But defensively that was unacceptable. ... So we didn’t help ourselves tonight.”

Brown and fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum both shot 7 of 17 from the field, scoring 19 and 25 points, respectively.

The poor 3-point shooting was eerily reminiscent of the last time Cleveland won a game in Boston in regulation – the Cavs’ Game 7 win in the 2018 conference finals. Boston went just 7 of 39 from the 3-point line in that game.

“I definitely think there were times when we went through tough stretches defensively and if affected our offense,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said.

As bad a night as the Celtics had, they were very much in the game entering the second half.

The score was knotted at 54-all at halftime. Then Cleveland went to work in the third quarter, getting 16 points from Donovan Mitchell and going 7 of 10 from the 3-point line. It helped the Cavaliers outscore the Celtics 36-24 for the period.

Cleveland started the fourth quarter on a 12-5 run to push its lead to 102-83 with less than nine minutes to play.

Boston threw in the towel with 4:58 remaining in the game and trailing by 24.

“We expected them to play better and they did,” Celtics center Al Horford said. “They were the better team tonight. You have to give them credit. They responded and we didn’t.”

Brown said he expected the film review of the game to be revealing on a night in which he said the Cavs were more assertive across the board. That will almost certainly include a long look at how they can better contain center Evan Mobley.

Mobley continued to fill in for Cleveland center Jarrett Allen, who sat out Game 2 and his missed five consecutive games as he continues to deal with bruised ribs he sustained in Round 1 against Orlando.

Mobley came out more aggressive on the inside early with Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis remaining sidelined with a strained right calf.

Mobley had 11 points in the first quarter. It included eight of Cleveland’s 22 points in the paint and helped the Cavs take a 30-24 lead into the second. He finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds – his third straight double-double.

Then there’s Mitchell, who finished with 29 points and eight assists after 33 points in Game 1.

Brown said any hopes of bouncing back in Game 3 on Saturday must also start with doing a better job containing him.

“He made some tough shots tonight. Some tough contested 3s, we have to be up. He’s a basketball player. We’ve got to have a little more alertness to him,” Brown said. “We just have to keep making it tough.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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