Cleveland– Not every Cavs game throughout the grind off an 82-game NBA season is alike.
Especially as you head toward the midway point of a long season, there are some games that just don’t have the energy, excitement or thrill an observer may crave.
On the flip side, certain games turn out to be the exact opposite- exhilarating from start-to-finish while keeping everyone involved on the edge of their seat and yearning for more.
Sunday’s game between the NBA’s top two teams- the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics- was an emphatic example of the latter.
Cavs v Celtics, Beasts of the East!
Photo from AP as seen in Cleveland.com
Flushed with a genuine playoff-type atmosphere from the tip, there was never a dull moment as the Cavs erased a 12-point deficit with less than eight minutes remaining to stun the reigning-champion Celtics, 115-111.
With both teams being a true title contender and currently the top two seeds in the Eastern Conference, the matchup already had all the makings of a great game.
Still, a catchy matchup isn’t enough to deliver what could be looked back as the biggest game of the season, especially for Cleveland.
Riding a two-game losing streak, the Cavs found themselves in danger of losing another thanks to a blitzing third quarter from the Celtics.
After trailing the entire first-half, Boston went on a 35-19 run to open the third quarter, taking an 84-70 lead and zapping all of the momentum and energy out of the sold-out Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
© Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images
The Celtics held on to a double-digit lead until just under the eight minute mark of the fourth quarter, when the Cavs came back to life with three straight 3-pointers to pull within three, 93-90.
Spida to the Rescue!
From there, led by an MVP-level effort from Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland showed why they are the best team in the league and a serious championship contender.
Mitchell scored 11 straight points down the stretch, knocking down three 3-pointers and a floater that gave Cleveland a two-point lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Cavs came up with all the clutch defensive-stops, corrected a rebounding problem that plagued them earlier in the game and knocked down 10 huge free-throws in the final 20 seconds to preserve their biggest victory of the season.
Not only was it a revenge spot for Cleveland just 12 days after Boston ended its 15-game winning streak to begin the season, it was a chance for the Cavs to prove to the world, and themselves, that they can not only hang with, but beat, the top dogs in the association.
It was also a chance for Darius Garland to correct what was by far his worst performance of the season the first time these teams played.
DG – PG in the CLE!
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After scoring just eight points on 3-21 the first time around, Garland bounced back with 22 points to go along with a couple big defensive stops down the stretch in Sunday’s win.
The entire Cavs team came out playing with great energy and effort from the tip and they scored the first eight points of the game to jump out to an early lead.
The Celtics, as champions often do, weathered the early storm, however, never allowing their deficit to grow larger than that initial eight points and closing the Cavs lead to just two, 51-49, at the half.
The game had a bit of everything. Comebacks. Big runs. Highlight-real worthy plays. A superstar showdown between Mitchell and Jayson Taytum.
Neither team led by more than five points the entire final 4:32 and both went all-out to try and come out with the victory.
Lack of rebounding, second-chance points and turnovers nearly sunk the Cavs.
Instead, they found a way to persevere and win when they weren’t at their best, while playing against the odds on favorite to win the 2025 championship .
The victory also kept them just ahead of Boston in the standings at 18-3, while Boston now stands at 17-4.
Sunday’s game was an exhilarating experience for all involved and there’s a very good chance these two teams will be playing again in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If that happens, the lessons learned from Sunday’s game surely will have played a big part in that.
Those are the types of wins, even in early December, that teams look back on as a milestone moment.
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