CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs still can’t beat the Celtics.
Cleveland got outclassed by Boston Sunday afternoon, 109-98, inside Rocket Arena. It’s the third time they’ve lost to the Celtics this year — a Boston regular-season sweep.
“I thought our energy and force was below average in the first half. I thought the second half, it was better,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson explained afterward. “Give them credit. I thought they made all the big plays. They made better decisions than we did. Played better than us.”
On Saturday afternoon, following the final practice of their four-day mini break, Atkinson admitted Boston was a tough matchup for his team.
“They’re a tough matchup for everybody,” Atkinson reiterated hours before Sunday’s tipoff. “They got championship pedigree. This is an elite, elite team. One of the elites of the league. We’ve got a lot to prove.”
The Cavs had a chance Sunday. They blew it.
The only thing Cleveland has proven to this point is it isn’t quite in that class.
After opening the game by scoring the first seven points and going ahead 11-3 at the 8:53 mark of the first quarter, the Cavs couldn’t sustain that level of play at either end.
Boston called timeout. It regrouped. Then settled in. Two minutes later, the Celtics pulled even. At the seven-minute mark of the first quarter, they went in front — for good.
During a putrid second quarter, the Cavs mustered just 10 total points on 4-of-25 shooting and 0 of 12 from 3-point range. They were behind by 20 heading into the locker room, even greeted by some faint boos.
Those jeers intensified late in the third quarter, as Boston built a game-high 26-point lead.
But the prideful Cavs slowly cut into that Boston advantage. By the start of the fourth quarter, it was a manageable 17-point Cleveland deficit. Then the Cavs trimmed the lead to eight around the midway point of the fourth. They were back within eight again at the 5:01 mark.
Cleveland never got any closer.
The battled-tested Celtics, armed with championship DNA and reinvigorated hope following Jayson Tatum’s recent return from Achilles surgery, didn’t rattle, hitting timely shots to punctuate a statement victory.
Boston was ahead for nearly 42 minutes. There was one lead change and two ties. The Celtics were on the right side of nearly every meaningful statistical category — rebounding (49-42), second-chance points (11-10), 3-point shooting (15-13) and bench points (41-13).
“It’s not one game, right? It seems like we, with this team, we get down in a hole, a big hole, because they win their spots early and then we react,” Atkinson lamented. “When you’re in that big of a hole, it’s too late, right? Especially against an excellent team like they are. It seems like a theme playing them. That’s a bit concerning. Got to do better.”
Donovan Mitchell, fresh off a four-game absence because of a groin injury, scored a game-high 30 points on 9 of 18 from the field. Evan Mobley added 24 points and eight rebounds. James Harden, Cleveland’s prized trade deadline addition that has this team believing a title run is within reach, finished with 19 points and 10 assists. The Cavs were without starting center Jarrett Allen because of a minor knee issue.
The Celtics had five players in double figures, including MVP candidate Jaylen Brown, who tallied 23 points. Tatum added 20 in his second game back following major surgery that was supposed to change the Celtics’ season — and title chances.
It didn’t.
Even without him, the Celtics kept winning, staying in the conversation with the league’s elite. Now Tatum, a six-time All-Star and NBA champion, is joining the Eastern Conference’s second seed, putting a nasty impediment in the way of Cleveland’s potential NBA Finals quest.
“I do think we’re in that group, but we obviously have to get better if we’re going to leapfrog that group,” Atkinson said of where Cleveland stands amongst the best teams. “That’s the challenge next month and a half. See if we can take that next step.”
The Cavs saw first-hand what they are now up against.
Sunday was the final regular-season meeting between the two conference rivals. Cleveland went winless.
With Tatum. Without Tatum. It hasn’t mattered. The Celtics have the Cavaliers’ number.
Perhaps they will get another shot to change that down the road — and finally prove they can match Boston’s standard.
“That’s the level that we gotta get to, Boston,” Harden admitted. “Once we get there, because I know we’re good enough, we will get there, then we’ll be a much better team. If we’re making shots, we’re gonna blow teams out. Tonight, we didn’t make shots, and we still gave ourselves a chance. It’s that simple.
“Got 18 games to get there, and I know we will.”
Up next
The Cavs will play the second game of a home back-to-back Monday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
