Mitchell scores 40 points, Cavs rally to beat Celtics 118-114 in OT – Boston News, Weather, Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 40 points and Lamar Stevens fueled Cleveland’s comeback in the fourth quarter with his zeal, leading the Cavaliers to a 118-114 win over the Boston Celtics on Monday night, who won their second game of overtime in less than 24 hours lost

Evan Mobley added 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Cavs, who improved to 7-0 in OT while avenging a loss in Boston five days ago.

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and Malcolm Brogdon 24 for the Celtics, who only arrived at their Cleveland hotel at 2:30 a.m. after losing to the New York Knicks in double overtime on Sunday.

The Celtics, missing out on All-Star Game MVP Jayson Tatum, gambled away a 14-point lead in fourth-place and had a chance to win it in the rule. But Grant Williams missed two free throws by 0.8 seconds and Boston’s Marcus Smart just missed a tip-in at the horn.

The frenetic final seconds of regulation included two controversial fouls that resulted in replay challenges for both teams.

With Stevens doing the dirty work underneath, the Cavs fought back and connected it with Mitchell’s two free throws by 5.8 seconds. Boston’s Derrick White dropped a 3-pointer with 14.3 seconds left.

After playing just nine seconds in the first three quarters, Stevens came off the bench and grabbed eight rebounds and scored eight points, including a 3-pointer at 2:14 OT to put Cleveland 114-112 ahead .

Stevens scored again before Brown’s layup put the Celtics 116-114 with 43 seconds left.

However, Darius Garland grabbed two free throws for the Cavs with 9 seconds left and after securing the final rebound, Mitchell slammed the ball off the floor as Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse erupted after a win that was probably harder than it took.

TIP INS

Celtics: Brown added 13 rebounds and 9 rebounds, narrowly missing his first triple-double of the season. … C Al Horford also stayed behind in Boston to rest a sore back. … Boston fell to 1-3 against Cleveland. … Coach Joe Mazzulla gave no details on Tatum’s injury but said he doesn’t expect to be sidelined for long. … C Robert Williams is expected to be out for up to 10 days with a thigh strain. … Smart celebrated his 29th birthday and Mazzulla credited the team’s “emotional leader” with a “beautiful ability to control the game.”

Cavaliers: Mitchell matched JR Smith’s team record with his 200th 3-pointer. Mitchell notched a career-high 232 3-pointers for Utah last season. … Cleveland is expected to embark on a unique scheduling quirk that will see the Cavs play back-to-back road games in Miami, Charlotte, Brooklyn and Orlando over the last month.

NEXT

Celtics: host Portland on Wednesday.

Cavaliers: Head to Miami on Wednesday for the first of two straight road games against the Heat.

(Copyright (c) 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed.)