Dennis Schroeder lost his excitement with the Cleveland Cavaliers with the Boston Celtics. In the 89:91 defeat, the German was once again the top scorer, but he couldn’t stop the Cavs from making an angry comeback.
Cleveland Cavaliers (9-5) – Boston Celtics (6-7) 91:89 (BOXSCORE)
With 28 points (10/19 FJ, 2/4 three-sets, 6/6 foot), 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Schroeder was the Celtics’ top scorer, like the night before against Milwaukee. The 28-year-old even got the ball back in the final attack by the guests, but his heavy jump over Cedi Osman’s outstretched arms for his extension only slapped the ring.
Instead, the Cavaliers came back after having just scored 9 points in the first quarter and were 56:74 behind by two minutes in the third. Outstanding running 35:15 in the last 14 minutes was rookie Evan Mobley (19, 8/13 FG, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks), who was all over the place and spent the most time in the center.
As for the crucial points, however, is Darius Garland, who brought Cleveland lucrative points off the free-throw line, as in Toronto a few days ago. The point guard made the foul on a hard-fought effort against Marcus Smart 10 seconds before the end and converted both cold free throws. With 22 points (7/15 FG) and 6 assists, Garland was also the hosts’ busiest point collector.
However, at first, nothing worked for the Cavs, who were able to score only three field goals in 20 attempts in the first twelve minutes. Only then did the Cavs catch up thanks to Garland, but Schroeder was equally hot and secured with a few jumpers and a 17-point total in the quarter that Boston went into the break by 52:38.
Boston Celtics storming after the break
After the change, however, the Celtics’ offense faltered more and more, and Jayson Tatum (21, 8/22 FG, 6 TO) also struggled to find a rhythm. With Al Horford (back), Josh Richardson (knee) and Jaylen Brown (thigh), he lost three important players in the rotation, so bench production was a big problem (15:32 in favor of the Cavs).
For Cleveland, Ricky Rubio (16, 4/17 FG, 7 assists) didn’t hit much, but he brought in the build and was on the field throughout the entire final division. In this Mobley scored 12 points, fellow Jarrett Allen (11, 8 rebounds) got the first lead since the first minutes with Alley Oop 35 seconds left. Tatum leveled after a gentle mid-distance move before Garland could score the decisive points from the free throw line.
The Celtics allowed themselves a total of 20 ball losses, seven of them in the fourth quarter. Only six times (out of 23 attempts) she was lean, too. In the area, on the other hand, Robert Williams (12, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) had a good game. Bankruptcy leaves the Celtics 10th in the East with 6-7, while Cleveland remains surprisingly fourth. On Tuesday night there is already a rematch between the two teams.