Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics went to Cleveland and took care of business.
Two road wins earned, and one more back at home will secure the Celtics back to a familiar territory.
Tatum scored 33 points, while Brown added 27, as the NBA-best Celtics put away the Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4, 109-102. They seized a commanding 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinals series.
CELTICS TAKE A 3-1 SERIES LEAD ??
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 14, 2024
Tatum: 33 PTS | 11 REB | 5 AST
Brown: 27 PTS | 8 REB
Holiday: 16 PTS | 7 REB | 5 AST | 3 STL pic.twitter.com/dlaaERyOkR
Tatum was a man on a mission from the opening tip, dropping 23 first-half points and finished with seven rebounds and four assists for the Celtics, who led by as many as 15 points.
Jayson Tatum 1H of Game 4:
— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2024
23 PTS (8-14 FGM) | 5 REB | 3 AST
BOS leads CLE 62-57 at the break! pic.twitter.com/mviM9aWzFH
Brown followed up his 28-point Game 3 win with a solid 27-point outing, including 16 in the final two quarters as Boston heads back home to try wrapping the series up on Game 5 on Thursday (PH time).
The handles.
— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2024
The spins.
The finish.
Jaylen Brown with the TOUGH bucket on TNT 💪 pic.twitter.com/T7taNM8aoE
Leading 102-97 in the final minutes of regulation, Brown drained a clutch triple in the right wing to give the Celtics some breathing room at 105-97 with 1:09 seconds left.
Jaylen Brown (27 PTS) drills the 3 to put the Celtics back up 8 late in Q4 on TNT! pic.twitter.com/UEdq0cBuT6
— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2024
Darius Garland then answered back with a three-point play to trim the deficit to 105-100 but Boston iced the game with four free-throws en route to another road win.
Jrue Holiday added 16 markers, seven rebounds, and five assists for another all-around game while Payton Pritchard chipped in 11, including scoring the Celtics final five points in the third.
Payton Pritchard nails the tough stepback 3 to close the 3rd quarter!
— NBA (@NBA) May 14, 2024
BOS leads CLE 88-78 headed to the 4th on TNT 🍿 pic.twitter.com/dMneBEZq4z
Despite committing 15 turnovers, Boston dominated the rebounding battle over Cleveland, 57-41, and understood their assignment on a night former Cavaliers superstar and current Los Angeles Laker LeBron James watched from the sidelines.
LeBron back in Cleveland taking in Game 4 action 👑#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/dVcoXeCOKz
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2024
James led Cleveland to their lone and historic 2016 championship run and received a standing ovation in his return.
Garland led the way for the Cavaliers with 30 points, all in the final three quarters, while Evan Mobley and Caris LeVert added 19 apiece.
Mitchell, who was averaging 31.7 points per game in the series, did not play out due to a left calf strain.
Max Strus added 15 points built on five triples as the Cavaliers stayed close with the Celtics at the first half, 62-57.
However, the loss of Mitchell was too much to overcome as Cleveland lost back-to-back home playoff games after winning their first four.STRUS from downtown AGAIN 🔥
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2024
He's 5-for-5 from 3 midway through the 2nd quarter on TNT! https://t.co/rQ9I9rOn2A pic.twitter.com/4eFlc6fKcS
