Jayson Tatum, Celtics Slammed By NBA Fans for Game 2 Loss to Donovan Mitchell, Cavs
The Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Boston Celtics by 12 points in both the third and fourth quarters en route to a dominant 118-94 win in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which is now tied at one game apiece.
All five Cavs starters scored in double digits, led by Donovan Mitchell's 29 (to go along with eight assists, seven rebounds and a plus-38 mark). Evan Mobley dominated the paint with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Caris LeVert added 21 points off the bench for a Cavs team that shot 54.7 percent from the field.
Cleveland also out-rebounded Boston 44-31 and made 13-of-28 threes compared to Boston's 8-of-35 effort from beyond the arc.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 25 points alongside his seven rebounds and six assists. However, it was a rough offensive night for many of his teammates. Jaylen Brown scored 19 points but missed all six of his three-pointers. Peyton Pritchard had 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench, but no other Celtic scored more than 11.
The two teams were tied at 54 going into halftime, but Mitchell got hot and Boston went ice cold, scoring just 16 in the fourth quarter.
It was a startling performance from a Celtics team that earned the NBA's best record (64-18), beat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the first round and then crushed the Cavs in Game 1 of this series, 120-95. Boston also entered this game 40-5 at home this year, including playoffs. Plus, they played a Cavs team still missing starting center Jarrett Allen (bruised ribs).
None of that mattered, and now Boston has lost homecourt advantage after dropping one at. TD Garden. Fans and analysts provided their opinions on the Game 2 outing.
Game 3 will take place in Cleveland on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
