Celtics 'Ready to Respond' After Cavs' Decisive, Series-Tying Victory

Rob Greene | May 10, 2024

May 9, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and guard Jaylen Brown during Game 2 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to punch back on the Boston Celtics, cruising in Game 2, 118-94, to even the series 1-1.

The Celtics, who seemed to be past their postseason home struggles falling just four times at TD Garden this season, continued their odd playoff woes at home as they are now 15-15 on the parquet floor since the 2021 postseason.

Boston started the game with a 14-5 lead before letting the Cavs swing momentum with a 25-7 run of their own and never looking back. The Celtics were minus-24 as a team and shot just 8-35 from three for 22.9 percent. Cleveland’s length finally wore on Boston in a game in which the Celtics finally seemed to miss Kristaps Porzingis, getting out-rebounded by double-digits and allowing the Cavs to be all over the glass.

Derrick White finally cooled off for the first time all Playoffs, shooting just 3-11 from the field and 1-8 from three for 10 points. Jayson Tatum, however, had his best offensive output in the last plethora of games going for 25 points, but he had just nine in the second half as he and Jaylen Brown combined for just 14-34 from the field. Boston made just two threes all second half with the starters going 0-13.

Donovan Mitchell was able to maintain his scorching play this postseason with his 29 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds shooting 52.6 percent from the field. It seemed like he scored at least 40, as he was able to take any defender off the dribble hitting the dagger, big shot after big shot from three highlighted by one in the grill of Tatum as the third quarter buzzer sounded.

Mitchell finally got the help he needed. The Cavs had six players in double figures, Evan Mobley had an early-career signature game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, shooting 9-15 from the field. Caris LeVert was huge with 21 points and six rebounds shooting 9-17.

Joe Mazzulla spoke about the Celtics responding to getting blown out at home on Saturday night for Game 3 in Cleveland. Deficits this substantial have not happened much this year at TD Garden.

“You treat it the same way you would a win,” Mazzulla said. “Come in tomorrow, you watch the film, and get better for Game 3.”

Brown also talked about how the Celtics should learn from Game 2.

“You learn from it,” Brown said. “Take it on the chin. You learn from it and come out and put your best foot forward for the next game. Obviously, this was an unacceptable performance, and we need to be ready to respond.”

Tatum knows Saturday night will not be an easy task. The Celtics will need to mentally overcome their issues and bad habits from Game 2 and adjust on the road, just like the way they did in Round 1 when the Miami Heat tied the series 1-1.

“Just get ready for Saturday,” Tatum said. “Nobody was in there defeated, deflated. I mean, never want to lose, especially in the playoffs. A lot of things we can learn from. World thinks we’re never supposed to lose and we’re supposed to win every game by 25. And it’s just not gonna be like that all the time. We don’t expect it to be easy. This a good team we're playing, it’s the second round of the playoffs. It’s gonna be fun, the rest of the series, especially come Saturday. But, you know, we bounced back plenty of times. We lost what, 16 games this year. So I’d like to think that we responded pretty well every time we did lose.”

Further Reading

Celtics Discuss 'Unacceptable Performance' in Game 2 Loss to Cavs

Cavaliers Stun Celtics in Series-Evening Route

Shooting Struggles Not Preventing Jayson Tatum from Positive Impact: 'They'll Fall'

Derrick White Discusses Joining Elite Company in Game 1 Win vs. Cavaliers

Jaylen Brown Leads Celtics to Tone-Setting Win in Game 1 vs. Cavaliers

Celtics Detail Challenge of Containing Donovan Mitchell: 'No Friends in the Playoffs'

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Target Date to Rejoin Celtics' Playoff Run: 'Doing Everything I Can'