The absence of Donovan Mitchell loomed large over Monday night’s Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland’s star guard was ruled out before the game with a left calf injury, but the Cavaliers didn’t make things easy on Boston for the evening. The Celtics withstood multiple comebacks in a game that remained within just two or three possessions for most of the night, fending off the Cavaliers to take a commanding 3-1 in the series.
For the second straight game, the action was spearheaded by the Jays: Jayson Tatum (33 points) and Jaylen Brown (27) carried a Boston offense that seemed a bit unsteady, with Jrue Holiday adding 16 points and Payton Pritchard scoring 11 off the bench.