Three big numbers from the Celtics’ back-to-back win over the Cavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The greatest number of the consecutive victory of the Boston Celtics over the previously undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers on tuesday night is, quite obviously, 1. The Celtics are now 1 in Cleveland’s 15-1 record.
But that was far from the only notable figure on the night.
From Al Horford’s timeless defense to Jayson Tatum’s all-out drive to Jaylen Brown’s desire to match up with Cleveland superstar Donovan Mitchell, here are a few more of our favorite numbers from Tuesday’s NBA Cup battle:
-14.2
That’s how far below the expected field goal percentage Al Horford held the Cavaliers to his spectacular 31 minutes and 36 seconds of floor time in Tuesday’s win. Cleveland players were only 9 of 24 shooting (37.5 percent) when Horford was labeled the primary defender in the NBA’s (imperfect) camera-based stat tracking.
Horford was seemingly everywhere in this game. With the Celtics playing just their second game in six nights, the 38-year-old looked even more animated than he has during a big offensive outing. against the Raptors on Saturday.
It all culminated with Horford grabbing a defensive rebound midway through the fourth quarter and exploding in transition as a point guard, setting in motion a decisive Payton Pritchard 3-pointer as the Celtics stiff-armed the Cavs’ second-half charge.
Horford’s defense was stellar in this game. Twice in crunch time he produced big blocks, first chasing Darius Garland all the way to the rim for a layup, then denying a Georges Niang cut soon after.
Horford finished with a team-high 14 shots, more than double any of the other seven Boston players who saw the floor.
The Knights’ effective field goal percentage dropped with Horford on the court. Cleveland was at 54.8 percent for the game (and 72.4 percent during backup big man Neemias Queta’s floor time). But that number dropped to 46.9 with Horford on the court. Boston’s defensive rating was a team-best 103 during Horford’s floor time. (The Cavs were at 123.2 for the game).
Here are more of Horford’s notable contest numbers:
-
Garland was 1-of-8 shooting with just two points against Horford, who recorded two blocks and created turnovers as the primary help defender against the speedy guard.
-
Mitchell shot 1-of-5 with two points and a turnover against Horford.
-
Evan Mobley finished with seven points on 2-of-5 shooting with Horford designating the defender during a robust 6:26 of contest time. Mobley had two turnovers against Horford.
16.7
That was Mitchell’s field goal percentage with Brown designated as the primary defender in Tuesday’s game.
Mitchell generated four points on 1-of-6 shooting against Brown, although he drew two shooting drops. Against all defenders not named Brown and Horford, Mitchell shot 11-of-18 for 29 points.
Brown and Mitchell have been friendly rivals since the NBA’s 2020 bubble trip, and Brown always seems to rise for that head-to-head matchup. Brown once again showed why he longs to be in that All-Defensive conversation by guarding the opposing team’s primary scorer.
Offensively, Brown produced a team-high 22 assist points while dishing out eight helpers. He and Tatum both had 12 potential assists, which is a monster spike from Brown’s typical playmaking numbers.
Brown is averaging 7.6 potential assists per game this season, fourth best on the team behind Tatum (12.3), Jrue Holiday (8.0) and Derrick White (7.8).
20
That was the team-high number of drives that Tatum produced against the Cavaliers, generating 11 points and three assists on those forays to the hoop.
This is the second game in a row that Tatum has kicked his drives into high gear. He generated 17 drives against Toronto on Saturday night. For the season, Tatum ranks 50th in the NBA at 9.6 drives per game. He is averaging 6.3 points per game on drives, shooting 52.4 percent of them.
Brown deserves credit in this place as well. He also averaged 18.5 runs per game over Boston’s last two contests. Despite his poor shooting overall against the Cavaliers, Brown shot 66.7 percent (4 for 6) on 16 drives, including a muscle-up at home two late layups. In addition, Brown passed eight times on his drives leading to five assists.
Good things keep happening when the Celtics’ all-star tandem attacks the basket instead of settling down.
