Keys to the Game: Cavaliers 132, Celtics 123 (OT)

Jaylen Brown seemed to give the Boston Celtics extra life in overtime Friday night when he knocked down a 3-pointer, snagged a steal, and threw down a fast-break dunk all in succession to tie his team up with the Cleveland Cavaliers at 121 apiece with 2:54 remaining.

That was until Caris LeVert sucked the life right out of them with 11 straight points to close out the game.

Immediately after Brown’s emphatic slam, LeVert put Cleveland back on top with a step-back 3-pointer. He then made four trips to the free-throw line and converted each attempt.

Brown made two free-throws of his own in the midst of LeVert’s tear, but those would be the only two points Boston put on the board down the stretch before LeVert delivered the final dagger: another step-back triple on which he was fouled and converted into a four-point play.

LeVert’s late dominance carried Cleveland to its fourth straight win by a score of 132-123 at TD Garden.

It’s not often that we give the Key Player nod to an opposing player. It’s even more unusual that we give it to two of them.

However, it’s not every day that you see a pair of teammates go off for matching 41-point efforts, which is exactly what Caris LeVert and Donovan Mitchell did Friday night.

Mitchell scored his 41 on a 15-of-26 effort from the field, while making 5-of-9 from deep and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. LeVert dropped in his 41 via a 12-of-21 effort from the field, a 6-of-8 performance from long range, and an 11-of-12 effort from the stripe.

Mitchell carried the team in regulation, which is when he dropped 36 of his points. Then LeVert put the Cavs on his back in overtime, scoring 11 of their 18 points in the extra period.

The backcourt mates became the second Cavaliers duo to score 40-plus apiece, joining Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, who accomplished the feat in Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, this time, it came at the Celtics’ expense.