Derrick White’s two missed free throws would have extended the Celtics’ lead to 15 with 7:26 left. The Cavaliers countered with an 11-2 run to slice the lead to 4. Donovan Mitchell, one of the league’s more clutch scorers completed a 3-point play and the Celtics were reeling.
Instead of allowing the surge to continue, White quieted the crowd with a jumper and then followed with a 3-pointer for a 9-point lead. Finally, he gave the Celtics control for good with a three that hit nearly every part of the rim before falling through.
The last 2:43 was a matter of survival. The White three would be the final Boston field goal, but the Celtics earned this win with defense, rebounding and causing timely turnovers.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla always focuses on the margins, winning every important statistical category. On Tuesday his team won the field goal, 3-pointer, rebound, assist, steal, block, and turnover margins. These erratic Celtics played a complete game despite an offense that couldn’t gain any footing.
The Cavaliers are an elite defensive club, and the Celtics weren’t going to win this game by shootout. They were going to be challenged to hustle, chase down loose balls, hold the Cavaliers to one shot, and defend the paint.
In an early third-quarter sequence, the 7-foot-2 Kristaps Porzingis read the passing lane and intercepted a Darius Garland pass intended for Evan Mobley near the 3-point line, gathered the ball, and then spun around and fed Tatum for an easy layup. The desire to win was there. The desire to win doing the little things was there.
Of course, it was a showdown game and the Celtics realized their reputation would be damaged with a lackluster performance.
“They’re No. 1 and we’re No. 2, right?” Porzingis said. “They had a hot start to the season and some people thought it was a little bit lucky. They’re the real deal. They’re a really good team and tonight was a challenge for us. It’s easier to show up to these kind of games and play hard and we’re working on having that intensity every night and sometimes running through teams and not letting them hang around.”
The Celtics finally realized they botched too many winnable games over the past six weeks to waste any more time. They eked out a road win at New Orleans on Jan. 31 before Sunday’s dramatic 26-point comeback against the 76ers. Those were sub-.500 teams likely headed for the lottery.
Tuesday was against the league’s only 40-win team, one that scored 91 first-half points Sunday against the Mavericks. If the Celtics were lackadaisical or unfocused, they could be trounced. The Celtics took a 20-point lead early in the second quarter and held it the rest of the way, staving off rallies, coming back from runs or questionable foul calls or missed shots, never letting Cleveland get to within one possession.
“I think we know we’re capable of this,” Porzingis said. “I think we know on any night we’re capable of beating anybody. But also, if we don’t bring our game that we need, then we can lose or have teams hang around and steal one from us.”
The Celtics didn’t necessarily play well throughout this battle, but they played hard 100 percent of the time. And that was critical to their success Tuesday — and their long-term growth.
“To not fool ourselves, honestly it’s just a bigger game,” Porzingis said. “We believe that we have the tools necessary to win these kinds of games. It’s a battle to try to bring it every night against maybe some lower-level teams on some random night, it’s a long season. It’s normal we’re not at this maybe intensity every night but bigger games, we’ve showed up and we looked pretty good today even though we didn’t have the best rhythm and the best shot making. We still looked pretty good.”
And this renaissance is coming at the perfect time. There’s four games left before the All-Star break. Players are itching for some sun, some vacation time, and a respite before the final third of the season. It’s easy to get distracted, especially on the final game of a road trip.
But the Celtics found enough determination to play one of their better games of the season against the highest of competition. The Cavaliers had been pointing to this game as a litmus test. There are still doubts in Cleveland as to whether they can beat the Celtics in a seven-game series in May.
Boston created even more uncertainty with a nearly wire-to-wire win even though its two All-Stars didn’t record a field goal in the final 13-plus minutes. The Celtics won ugly Tuesday and that’s a beautiful thing as they seek to return to championship form.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
