Coming off a 20-point loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Boston Celtics were raring to redeem themselves, and in a great test against the Cleveland Cavaliers, no less. And even though the Celtics were without Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis on the night, they still found themselves in winning positions for most of the night. Alas, the Cavs, despite being down by double digits at the half, showed why they are a legitimate contender by finding a way to defeat the reigning champions in their home turf, 123-116.
On a night where Tatum and Brown combined to score 83 points, one would assume that the Celtics would cruise to victory. But Boston lost steam in the end, particularly on the glass; the Cavs hauled in seven offensive boards in the fourth quarter alone, exploiting the Celtics’ lack of size with the game still hanging in the balance, leading to the completion of their meltdown from 22 points up.
While there’s no reason for the Celtics faithful to panic, blowing a 22-point lead after struggling to keep up with a surging Pistons squad is not the most promising sign for the team heading into the final month or so of the regular season.
“Focus more on the real issue which is that the Celtics had supposedly 3 elite defenders on the court tonight and none of them can come close to stopping Mitchell,” X user @jbbirdman33 wrote.
“Celtics embarrassing bro 
. How I knew they would blow a 20 point lead?” @oncourtbetting added.
“Donovan Mitchell is who people thought Luka would be vs the Celtics. Celtic killer,” @MrLiberty1776 furthered.
Celtics fans preach patience amid regular-season lull
In an 82-game regular season, there are bound to be peaks and valleys, even for a team as excellent as the Celtics. While they aren’t exactly in the middle of a championship hangover, they have not been able to reach the same dominant levels they were at last season, preferring to instead play the long game and focus on the postseason instead of going full-tilt on the playoffs.
So even with another demoralizing loss despite being up by 22 at one point, Celtics fans know that their team will show up when it matters the most.
“Cavs are tough though so I’ll give them credit. If the celtics aren’t at full strength come playoff time they could be trouble. But at full strength I’ll say celtics in 6,” @michaelis4real wrote.
“Dude they were down two starters and were up twenty multiple times haha it happens it’s nothing to worry about. Celtics were missing arguably are two most important defensive players and a guy that averages 20 and 8 dude,” @Palmierijoe13 furthered.
The post Celtics fans in shambles after devastating loss vs. Cavs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
