For the third consecutive game, the Celtics blew a double-digit lead, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-114 Monday night. It was Boston’s 11th overtime game of the season, and their third against the Cavaliers this year. Cleveland has now defeated Boston in all three of their overtime games this season, as the C’s drop to 4-7 in overtime on the season.
The Celtics were fresh off a 14-point blown lead in Sunday night’s double-overtime loss to the New York Knicks, and they followed it up with a 15-point blown lead on Monday night in Cleveland. This all coming after a 28-point blown lead at home against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.
Sure, the Celtics were shorthanded, as they were without Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams, but that is no excuse for blowing a 15-point lead, especially in a game they should have won.
Boston jumped out to a 12-point halftime lead and finished the first half shooting 25-of-48 (52.1%) from the field and 13-of-25 (52%) from three, while racking up 18 assists. The Celtics were also showing out on the defensive end, as they forced nine first-half turnovers that resulted in 15 points for Boston. Boston’s bench stepped up in a big way in the first half, outscoring Cleveland’s 36-12.
Cleveland came out of the halftime locker room and went on a quick 4-0 scoring run in the first 1:15 of the third quarter, which prompted Joe Mazzulla to call a timeout -- an uncharacteristic move for him, and one that may have been a result of the night before, when the Knicks opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run.
The Celtics went cold shooting the ball from deep in the third quarter, as they finished just 1-of-9 (11.1%). Despite going cold from three-point range, the Celtics were able to hold their own in the third quarter behind strong rebounding and getting to the bucket. Despite the absences of Horford and Robert Williams, the Celtics out-rebounded the Cavs 17-10 in the third quarter.
It was the fourth quarter that was the disaster for the C’s, as they were outscored 31-17 and saw what was a 15-point lead erased after a Donovan Mitchell bucket with under 25 seconds to go.
Prior to that Mitchell bucket, the Cavs had only led for 1:39 of the game. The Celtics had their chances though, as Derrick White put them back on top with this clutch three.
Then we would get into the ref show, as Tony Brothers and his crew had their fingerprints all over the end of regulation.
It started with this very questionable call on Grant Williams that sent Donovan Mitchell to the line. He knocked them both down and tied the game at 109 apiece.
The Celtics challenged the call and came up unsuccessful, costing them their timeout and forcing them to go the length of the floor to try to score. In a wild turn of events, Grant Williams drew a foul on a put-back attempt and had a chance to win the game for the Celtics. All he needed to do was make one free throw.
Before taking to the line, Williams told Cavs star Donovan Mitchell that he would make them both. That did not happen.
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Boston’s struggles continued into overtime, as they shot just 1-of-8 (12.5%) from the field and 0-of-4 from three. It was the things that the Celtics did well in the first half that haunted them in the second half and overtime, starting with the three-point shooting. Boston shot 13-of-25 (52%) from three in the first half, compared to 3-of-23 (13%) in the second half and overtime.
It wasn’t just the three-point shooting for the C’s, as they allowed 10 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and overtime, which resulted in 16 second-chance points for Cleveland. The Cavs almost outscored the Celtics on second-chance points alone in the fourth quarter, as they scored 14 second-chance points and Boston only had 17 points in the quarter. Even the bench went cold for Boston. After putting up 36 points in the first half, they were held to just 14 in the second quarter and overtime.
The inability to preserve leads at this point of the season is worrisome, especially for a team that still has a shot at the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Though it feels that opportunity could be slipping away, with Boston now two full games behind the Milwaukee Bucks.
This is a bad time to be slipping. Not only are there just 16 games remaining in the regular season, but the C’s are also gearing up to head on a six-game road trip. Needless to say, the Celtics need to find their stride. If they continue to slip, it’ll be interesting to see if they turn their focus towards staying healthy for the playoffs, rather than trying to compete for the one-seed and home court in the Eastern Conference.