BOSTON — Donovan Mitchell made a 3-pointer from a few steps beyond the top of the arc, but could only shrug it off as he backpedaled back through the defense.
He followed with two baskets in the lane to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a 16-point lead.
“Sometimes you just get lucky,” Mitchell said after scoring 29 points to help Cleveland beat Boston 118-94 on Thursday night. “Archers shoot.”
Two nights after losing the opening game by 25 points, the Cavaliers fought back with a bang of their own, defeating the top-seeded Celtics in Boston and tying the Eastern Conference semifinal series at one game apiece.
The team will now travel to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.
“I expected them to play better, and they did,” Celtics center Al Horford said. “They complied, we didn’t.”
Mitchell scored 33 points in the opening game, but got little help.
On Thursday, the Cavs All-Star scored six points on just six shots in the first half while dishing out five assists.
Mitchell scored 16 points in the third quarter and started the fourth with three straight baskets, including a 28-foot shot that hit the glass.
“I just picked my spots, not taking too many shots and trying to find ways to get guys involved early. I just kept looking for ways to put pressure on them,” he said, adding eight assists and eight assists. said Mitchell, who had seven rebounds.
“We were able to score in the second half,” he said. “Sometimes it’s an assist. Sometimes it’s a rebound. You put your life on the line. And when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. I knew that at some point, of course, I had to start filming.” “
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and Jaylen Brown added 19 points for Boston.
However, Derrick White, who scored 25 points in Game 1 and helped the Celtics win 120-95, missed 7 of 8 3-point attempts and only scored 10 points.
The win ensures the Cavaliers will play at least a fifth game in Boston on Wednesday. And after finally getting their first road win this postseason, they showed they can win there.
“When we defend the way we’ve been defending and the shots miss, what we do will show,” Cleveland coach JB Bickerstaff said. “And you can win anywhere.”
Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double and fifth time this postseason.
Cleveland’s Caris LeVert scored 21 points off the bench, hitting a pull-up jumper midway through the fourth quarter to give the Cavaliers a 20-point lead and start a parade of fans heading for the exits. Many of those who remained started booing.
A minute later, after the Celtics missed another 3-pointer (they were 8-of-35 from long range), LeVert made a layup that drew a flagrant foul from Tatum. It was a 25-point game, but Boston coach Joe Mazzula emptied his bench.
Bickerstaff followed shortly after, and Mitchell was rested and played a game-high 37 minutes on Tuesday night, but he came off the bench in the Celtics’ 10-2 win and scored the first goal of the game. He started the fourth goal.
Mitchell made four of five 3-pointers in the third quarter, helping extend Cleveland’s lead to as many as 14 points. And he stayed in the game from the start of the fourth inning until the game ended with Cleveland leading by 27 points and four minutes remaining.
“At halftime I was like, ‘I’m not going to come out.’ That was the mindset,” Mitchell said. “He asked me if I needed (a break) and I was like, ‘Okay.’
The 24-point victory was the largest playoff victory by a double-digit underdog since 1991, according to ESPN.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis missed his third straight game with a calf strain.
Mobley started at center in place of Jarrett Allen, who missed five consecutive games with a bruised rib, and entered the playoffs with the highest points of his career.
Mobley scored 11 points in the first quarter, but the Cavaliers quickly fell behind by nine points and looked like they would lose their second straight game.
But Cleveland scored 11 straight points, eight of which came from LeVert. Boston led by two points, and the Cavs entered halftime tied.
Tatum had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in the first half, while Mobley had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
