Boston players, from left, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis watch from the bench as the Cleveland Cavaliers pull away from the Celtics in the second half of Game 2 of their second-round playoff series on Thursday in Boston. Steven Senne/Associated Press
BOSTON — The Celtics had a Game 2 hiccup against the Miami Heat in their first-round playoff series, brushed it off, and never looked back. They ran the table, flew into the next series and looked invincible in the process.
Will it be the same scenario against the Cleveland Cavaliers? Will they get the desired jolt and do the same here?
In theory, sure.
The Celtics could very well wake up from Thursday night’s 118-94 nightmare, realize they can’t sleepwalk past lesser opponents, and rip off wins in the next three games.
They’ll take their serving of humble pie, and rebound with a vengeance when the Eastern Conference semifinal series commences in Cleveland tied 1-all.
But after watching that woeful display against the Cavs, it’s harder to tell which way this is headed. Will the embarrassing beat-down serve as a wake-up call for the Celtics like it did in the first series, or is this more of a reality check?
As in trouble in paradise. As in a bad omen. As in maybe when push comes to shove, when the pressure ratchets up, the Celtics falls off the cliff.
Comparing the pair of Game 2 losses doesn’t exactly reveal what the end game will be. In the lone loss to Miami, the Celtics were done in by a record-setting number of 3-pointers hit by the Heat.
Against the Cavaliers? Basically, it was a litany of woes. That’s what makes this loss more worrisome than the lone setback against the Heat.
Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points as Cleveland rolled to a 118-94 win in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Celtics on Thursday in Boston. Steve Senne/Associated Press
Coach Joe Mazzulla and his fleet of assistants were out-maneuvered by Cavaliers Coach J.B. Bickerstaff and his group. The Celtics had no answers, and little response. The flood of timeouts Mazzulla called in the second half to stop the bleeding did nothing to right the ship. It was so bad he yanked his starters with five minutes to play.
But that was only one slice of the blame pie for Thursday night’s debacle.
The effort was lacking. Ditto execution.
If it’s possible, the Celtics played worse defense than the Bruins in Game 2 of their blowout loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.
They did little to stop the Cav’s pick-and-roll. It was a bludgeoning by back-door cuts. Later, it was death by Donovan Mitchell (29 points).
There was no such thing as a contested 3 for the Cavs, who weren’t the least bit taxed by Celtics defenders. That was an issue in Game 2 against the Heat, and once again reared its ugly head against the Cavaliers.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown certainly didn’t pull any punches in his post-game session with the media, saying their defensive effort was “unacceptable.”
“I think that’s where, you look at that, and that’s where I’m the most upset,” he said. “We gave up 118 points then on top of that, we lost the rebound battle. So we didn’t help ourselves tonight.”
At the offensive end, the Celtics weren’t much better.
Celtics guard Derrick White finally turned mortal (3 for 11 from 3-point-land). Brown, meanwhile, put up a bagel from distance while Jayson Tatum, who is still fighting his shot, did most of his damage underneath for a team-high 25 points. In the second half alone, the Celtics were 1 for 17 from beyond the arc, and 8 for 35 (22.9%) overall.
All told, the Celtics were a far cry from the team that finished with the NBA’s best record.
“I think when you lose a game like that, it could be a combination of tactics, a combination of effort, a combination of like a little bit of all those things,” Mazzulla said when asked to explain what happened. “That’s not to say it was one thing all the time. But it was a combination of those.”
And for the first time since he went down with a calf injury, the absence of center Kristaps Porzingis was a factor, especially underneath the basket.
The Celtics didn’t look like they were on the same page at either end of the floor. Tatum chalked it up to communication and spacing issues.
“Some of our communication was a little off in the second half,” Tatum said. “It’s something we’ve got to be better at.”
As for where it goes from here, that’s anyone’s guess. Some are already questioning how the Celtics can rebound from this type of thumping.
For their part, the players don’t seem too concerned about their ability to turn it around and right the ship.
“You learn from it, you take it on the chin, you learn from it and you come out and put your best foot forward for the next game,” Brown said regarding the team’s approach heading into Game 3 Saturday night. “Obviously this was an unacceptable performance, and we need to be ready to respond.”
That’s what they did against Miami, eventually finishing off a gentleman’s sweep. As for Cleveland, that’s TBD.
But watching how it played out in Game 2, it sure doesn’t seem or feel like quite the same deal.
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