GOTTA HAVE IT
The Cavaliers dropped their first home game of the postseason on Saturday night, but look to get back in the win column – and even their Eastern Conference Semifinal series with Boston – when they welcome back the Celtics in for Game 4 on Monday night.
After winning Game 2 in Beantown last Thursday, the Cavaliers stayed right with the Celtics through the first half on Saturday night – trailing by just nine at the break. But Boston started the second half on a 14-0 run that proved to be all the room they’d need. Cleveland got back to within nine early in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics answered back immediately and kept the Cavs at double-digit distance the rest of the way.
Saturday’s game was tight statistically in every area but frontcourt scoring – with Boston’s All-Star tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum outscoring Cleveland’s duo of Max Strus and Isaac Okoro, 61-8. Dean Wade made his comeback after missing more than two months of action and Donovan Mitchell topped the 30-point mark for the fourth time in his last five outings, but it wasn’t enough as Cleveland fell behind in the best-of-seven series, 2-1.
After Monday’s matchup, these two teams travel back to Boston for a Game 5 on Wednesday night. If there’s a Game 6, that takes place back here in Cleveland on Friday night, with Game 7 slated for the following Sunday at TD Garden.
CLEVELAND VS. BROWN
Jaylen Brown has been outstanding through the first two rounds of the postseason – and especially through the first three games against Cleveland.
Through this first eight Playoffs games this spring, the three-time All-Star has shot better than 50 percent in six of them, including two of the first three games against the Cavs. Brown was especially efficient on Saturday night – going 13-for-17 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from long-range, for 28 points, adding nine boards and three assists.
So far in the Eastern Semis, Brown is averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 boards, shooting 62 percent from the floor, 40 percent from deep and 82 percent from the stripe.
Isaac Okoro’s performance isn’t measured on the offensive end, but he’s still been pretty solid through the first three games of the series against Boston – netting double-figure scoring in each of the first two.
Before struggling on 1-of-7 shooting on Saturday night, the 4th-year man from Auburn shot 53 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from deep through Games 1 and 2.
STRATEGIC RESERVES
On Saturday night, Caris LeVert posted his second straight strong performance in the series, leading all reserves with 15 points – netting eight of those in the fourth quarter – adding six assists in 30 minutes of work off the bench.
Overall, the 8th-year man from Michigan has caught a groove in the postseason, having now scored at least 15 points in three of his last four outings, averaging 13.8 points on an even 50 percent shooting over that stretch.
Cleveland’s second unit got a little lift on Saturday with the return of Dean Wade, who hadn’t played since early March while nursing a knee injury. Wade canned his first triple of the night – finishing with five points, three boards and three assists. He was the only other Cleveland reserve to score in Game 3.
After getting off to a scorching start to the series, Boston’s second unit has come back down to earth.
Payton Pritchard, who combined for 29 points through the first two games of the Semis, was limited to just five points on 2-of-4 shooting on Saturday. Luke Kornet came off the bench to grab 10 boards in the series opener, but snagged just four over the next two games.