*** After taking one on the chin in the series opener on Tuesday night, the Wine & Gold threw a haymaker of their own in Game 2 on Thursday, punishing Boston’s interior early and blowing out the top-seeded Celtics out after intermission – running away with the 118-94 victory and evening the series at one game apiece. Evan Mobley got Cleveland rolling early, tallying his third straight double-double, and Donovan Mitchell paced both teams with 29 points and eight assists in the one-sided win.
*** Boston jumped out to an early – albeit short-lived – nine-point lead, and it looked like the Celtics might roll once again. But behind Mobley’s 11-point opening period, the Cavaliers roared back to tie the contest and eventually take a nine-point edge of their own. After a back-and-forth second quarter that saw the game knotted at 54-apiece at intermission, the Cavs came out of the halftime locker room ready to rumble – building a double-digit lead in the third period, capped by Donovan Mitchell’s buzzer-beating triple to end the quarter. Cleveland extended its lead to 20 points midway through the fourth, sending the stunned TD Garden crowd to the exits.
*** In Thursday’s victory – in which Cleveland never trailed in the second stanza – the Cavaliers shot 55 percent from the floor, including 46 percent from deep, scored 60 points in the paint and dominated Boston on the boards, 44-31. Defensively, they limited Boston’s starting backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White to a combined 5-for-18 shooting and held the Celtics to just 16 points in the final period. White, who’d drilled seven triples in Game 1, was just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc on Thursday.
*** Coach J.B. Bickerstaff praised his squad’s defensive effort on Thursday. “I thought we did a great job. I thought we were really good and early (on close-outs). We weren't late to the ball like we were in Game 1. And then we were active with our hands on those closeouts, so they didn't just get a quick catch-and-raise three. So again, I thought we executed well tonight, we competed well, and it was a great team effort because everybody that went out there contributed and gave us something.”
*** Donovan Mitchell led all five starters in double-figures on Thursday night – tallying 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-7 from long-range and 4-of-6 from the stripe. Mitchell acted as a facilitator in the first half – handing out five of his eight assists before the break – and erupted offensively from there – notching 16 points in the decisive third quarter.
Donovan Mitchell | Cavs vs Celtics, Game 2 Highlights | 5.9.2024
*** Mitchell, on his tale of two halves. “I was trying to find ways to get guys involved early and then just picking my spots and just continuing to find ways to apply pressure. And then the second half, it was scoring, and I've said it all year, sometimes it's assists, sometimes it's rebounds, sometimes it’s whatever it takes. Then when it's the time to go, it's time to go. I knew at some point I was going to have to start shooting, so just trying to, like I said, manipulate the game, pick my spots. And I feel like I did a pretty good job of that.”
*** Starting his fifth straight postseason contest at center with Jarrett Allen still nursing bruised ribs, Evan Mobley dominated the interior early – piling up 15 points and seven boards before half. On the night, Mobley tallied a Playoff career-high, finishing with 21 points on 9-for-15 shooting, grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds to go with five assists, a steal and a pair of blocks to lead both teams.
*** Mobley talked about how his success late in Game 1 affected him on Thursday. “I feel like last game, second half, I caught a flow, and I started seeing how they're guarding me, where I could score from. And I watched the film a little bit and came out here and tried to do the same thing – and attack those spots and get to my spots and elevate. And that's what I did.”
*** After swatting 21 shots in the opening round against Orlando, Evan Mobley has continued his block party against Boston, and his 2.75bpg average is second among this postseason’s performers, trailing only OKC’s Chet Holmgren. Through Cleveland’s first eight Playoff games, the 3rd-year man from USC has recorded multiple rejections in six of them.
*** Caris LeVert had his best offensive showing of the postseason in Thursday’s win – leading all reserves with 21 points – four fewer points than Boston’s combined second unit. On the night, LeVert went 9-of-17 from the floor, adding six rebounds and three assists in 27 excellent minutes of work off the bench.
*** LeVert talked postgame about the squad’s resiliency. “I think we're a team who handles adversity really well. We know that you’re not going to play your best game every single game. It's how you bounce back from it. And I think we've been a team that’s bounced back all season long – and we're excited to go back to Cleveland, to get the series back at home.”
*** Darius Garland played an efficient floor game on Thursday – finishing with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, adding seven boards, four assists and a steal.
*** Max Strus and Isaac Okoro rounded out the Cavaliers starters in double-figures. Okoro was 5-for-6 from the floor for 12 points; Strus, 5-of-10, adding six boards and an assist. Both players combined to hold Boston’s All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to a combined 14-for-34 shooting.
*** With the victory, the Cavaliers improved to 13-5 against Boston in the postseason since April 19, 2015 – including a 7-4 at TD Garden over that stretch.
*** After leveling the series on Thursday night, the Cavaliers bring it back home for a pair – with Game 3 slated for what should be raucous full-house on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET) followed by a Monday night meeting for Game 4. The series returns to Beantown next Wednesday and, if necessary, comes back to Cleveland the following Friday. If the Eastern Conference Semis require a Game 7, it’ll go down one week from Sunday back at TD Garden.