NEW YORK: Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers avenged a heartbreaking loss with a 115-111 victory over Boston on Sunday in a matchup of the NBA’s top teams.
Mitchell scored 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs rallied from 14 points down in the second half to defeat the reigning NBA champions.
The Cavaliers started the season 15-0 but suffered their first loss at Boston last month by 120-117 and dropped their two prior games, both losses to Atlanta, before staging a fightback home triumph.
“For us, we’ve got to go out there and make a statement,” Mitchell said. “They beat us in the NBA Cup. No excuse. We’ve got to go out there and try to build. We had two losses that really hurt. We weren’t playing like ourselves. We needed this win.”
The Cavs improved to 18-3 to stay atop the Eastern Conference while the Celtics fell to 16-4 as Cleveland snapped their seven-game win streak.
“You’ve got to trust your work and what we’ve been working on since training camp. That’s the biggest thing,” Mitchell said. “That’s what you saw tonight and that’s what it’s going to continue to be.”
The Celtics were without starting guards Jaylen Brown due to illness and Derrick White with a sprained right foot.
“Just because they’ve got two guys down, they’ve got a lot of guys who are capable,” Mitchell said. “You’ve got to respect them. They’re champions for a reason.”
Cleveland led 51-49 at half-time but the Celtics dominated the third quarter for an 84-72 lead entering the fourth, Jayson Tatum scoring 17 of his 33 points in the third period to lead Boston.
Mitchell responded for Cleveland, including a floater that gave the Cavs a 103-101 lead with 67 seconds remaining and concluded his run of 11 consecutive Cavaliers points.
“The biggest thing is you’ve just got to pick your spots, find your moments throughout the game,” said Mitchell. “They kind of went on a run and in the fourth quarter I started to make my imprint.
Tatum missed a layup and Mobley followed with a dunk for a 105-101 Cavs lead. Porzingis responded with two free throws with 26 seconds to play but Mitchell sank two free throws of his own for a 107-103 Cavs lead.
Boston’s Payton Pritchard sank a 3-pointer to lift the Celtics within one point but Darius Garland, who had 22 points, hit two free throws to give Cleveland a 109-106 edge and the Celtics kept fouling Pritchard, who had 24 points, to keep him from taking more 3-point shots.
The teams traded free throws late until Pritchard deliberately missed one trying to get a rebound, but he committed a lane violation and Mitchell added two final free throws to seal the victory.
“At the end of the day, we executed on both ends of the floor,” said Mitchell. “I scored offensively but we were getting stops and finding ways to get rebounds, loose balls, different things. That’s what ultimately ended up getting us the W.”
In a battle between the Western Conference leaders, Fred VanVleet scored 38 points to lead the Houston Rockets over visiting Oklahoma City 119-116.
Houston improved to 15-6 but the Thunder, led by 32 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fell to 15-5, still atop the best.
Dillon Brooks made a steal and sank a jumper to give Houston a 115-113 edge with 33 seconds remaining and VanVleet added two free throws.
Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams sank a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds to play but VanVleet’s two final free throws sealed victory.
Orlando’s win streak stretched to six games as Franz Wagner scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and passed off eight assists to power the Magic (15-7) over host Brooklyn 100-92.
Also in New York, Mikal Bridges scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 14 points and 19 rebounds to spark the New York Knicks over New Orleans 118-85.
Toronto’s R.J. Barrett scored 37 points and the host Toronto Raptors beat Miami 119-116.
Jaren Jackson led Memphis with 25 points and eight rebounds to spark the host Grizzlies (14-7) over Indiana 136-121.
Cavaliers get ‘statement’ win over Celtics in showdown of NBA’s best
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Cavaliers get ‘statement’ win over Celtics in showdown of NBA’s best
- Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavs rallied from 14 points down in the second half to defeat the reigning NBA champions
Desert Vipers cruise to 8-wicket ILT20 victory over Gulf Giants
- Bowler Khuzaima Tanveer is the star in the field with a record-breaking powerplay performance that set the foundation for a comfortable win
- Unbeaten 123-run batting partnership between Sam Curran and Max Holden ensures Vipers maintain 100% record after 5 matches
DUBAI: A brilliant performance by the Desert Vipers was rewarded with a fifth-straight win in the International League T20 on Friday, as they beat Gulf Giants by eight wickets to maintain their 100 percent record for the season.
After a fielding display led by a strong powerplay performance from Khuzaima Tanveer during which he took four wickets, an unbeaten 123-run batting partnership between Sam Curran and Max Holden made light work of the target set by the Giants at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Tanveer finished 4 for 10 in the first innings, an ILT20 record for a UAE bowler, and he also became the first to claim four wickets in the powerplay. His early attack kept the Giants on the back foot throughout, restricting them to 157/7 in 20 overs.
When it was the Vipers’ turn to bat, Curran’s unbeaten 67 off 43 balls, including five fours and three sixes, complemented Holden’s 64 runs off 41 balls as they chased the target and reached it with ease. It was the Vipers’ sixth straight win over the Giants.
Fakhar Zaman (14 off 8) was the first Viper to fall, in the second over, courtesy of a beautiful delivery by Chris Wood. Holden kept the runs flowing, however, and other than a run out of Hassan Nawaz (7 off 9) in the fourth over, the Vipers looked to be in complete control of the chase, finishing the powerplay at 53 for 2.
Curran joined the attack at the start of the fifth over. He smashed 19 runs off Liam Dawson, including three sixes, considerably reducing the required run rate. His power hitting continued off Kyle Mayers, and he completed his half-century in just 32 balls with a lovely four, scoring 18 runs in the 14th over.
The Vipers continued to build momentum and Holden joined Curran on the half-century list in just 31 balls, also with a four. Their partnership kept the scoreboard ticking over as they found regular boundaries while also rotating the strike.
The likes of Wood and Mark Adair were unable to keep them in check as they built an unbeaten 123-run partnership in just 77 balls, reaching the target in 16.5 overs.
Earlier, Tanveer made quick inroads into the Giants top order, striking twice in the second over: first removing Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2 off 4) with a superb delivery, then James Vince (0 off 2), who edged behind.
He picked up another out in the fourth, removing the dangerous Pathum Nissanka (19 off 12), and struck again in the sixth as Gerhard Erasmus (4 off 9) nicked to slip. A dominant powerplay left the Giants reeling at 30/4.
Mayers (30 off 24) briefly lifted the innings for the Giants when he took 18 off David Payne in the ninth over, but Noor Ahmad trapped him LBW to halt the momentum at 67/5 midway through the inning.
Asif Khan (36 off 38) held one end but the Vipers maintained control as Tom Curran removed Azmatullah Omarzai (20 off 15), and Ahmad dismissed Adair (1 off 2) soon after.
A late Dawson assault rescued the Giants somewhat as he smashed Lockie Ferguson for 16 in the 19th over and followed this up with a 21-run final over. He finished unbeaten on a blazing 38 off 14 (including three fours and three sixes), lifting his side’s total to a competitive 157/7.
Desert Vipers captain Ferguson said: “Tanveer has been outstanding for us all season. He was brilliant last year, too, winning games with the bat, and tonight he was exceptional with the ball.
“He’s played a lot of cricket recently, his rhythm is spot on, and the ball is coming out beautifully. He’s in a really good space. It was also great to see Max and Sam put together a big partnership.”
Vince, the Gulf Giants captain, said: “Tanveer bowled exceptionally well; full credit to him. We’ll probably look back and think about what we could have done differently but we were on the back foot early. We did well to recover to 157.
“This was the first match of the tournament where we were outplayed from the start. We were simply outplayed today, though the dew was a factor.”
