The Cleveland Cavaliers take down the Boston Celtics powered by impressive performances from Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert.
It was going to take some spectacular performances from multiple Cleveland Cavaliers if they were going to take down the Boston Celtics without Darius Garland. The Cavs were able to rally from a 15-point deficit and tie the game in regulation before pulling away in overtime. This was the type of character building win that this young Cavs team needs.
Leading the way was Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert combining for 82 points (41 each). Mitchell was 15-25 from the floor (5-9 3PT) and made all six free throw attempts. LeVert made 12 of 21 field goal attempts (6-8 3PT) and went 11-12 from the charity stripe. This was not the typical performance as the duo managed to make some Cavaliers history. Mitchell and LeVert are only the second pair of teammates to score 40 or more points in a single game. Being in the same stratosphere as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s performances in the 2016 NBA Finals is impressive.
The Cavaliers big men also pulled their weight in this contest. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen each finished with a double-double, 19 points, 10 rebounds and 12 points, 11 rebounds respectively.
Cleveland is now 4-1 on the year and have won four straight without Garland. This was the first notable win of the season for the Cavs as they have not played a particularly difficult slate of opponents thus far. That being said the important takeaway here is that the Cavaliers are winning and that is all that matters at the end of the day.
