While the Cleveland Cavaliers were hoping to keep their undefeated streak, they got their first loss of the season Tuesday night to the Boston Celtics, 120-117. Cavs star Evan Mobley was confident going into the game as he spoke about the team’s performance following the defeat.
Despite the loss, Cleveland would not go without a fight as in the second half, they would score 40 in the third period and outscored Boston in the fourth, still though to no avail. Mobley, who had an impressive night, spoke after the game about the resiliency of his team and had seen the outing as a “good test,” according to ESPN.
“I’m happy how we fought back,” Mobley said. “That was the main thing that I can be happy about. I feel like we didn’t start the best. That was the main thing that really shot us in our foot. But overall, I feel like we played a pretty good game.
“I think it was a good test, and from what I saw out there, we could beat anybody.”
Cavs’ Donovan Mitchell on Evan Mobley’s impressive game
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Mobley finished with 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds and six assists in what was another showcase of the 23-year-old’s talents. Cavs star Donovan Mitchell would lead the team with 35 points and eight rebounds and had endless praise for the Cleveland big-man.
“Man, big time,” Mitchell said. “[Mobley] set the tone for us. But when he’s in there and being able to create, dominate the way he did, that’s what he does. And it’s continuing to be aggressive, and that’s just part of the process, continuing to get better and better.”
“We saw this against [Boston] in the series last year,” Micthell continued. “He’s continuing just to grow and get better, and that’s who he is.”
As mentioned before, Mobley had major confidence heading into Tuesday night’s game since it would be a chance to show that the then-undefeated team would show out against the defending NBA champs, according to Tim Bontemps.
“That we’re a real contender. It’s not a fluke or anything, we’re not a fluke,” Mobley said. “We’re coming out here to get wins and get better every day…The end goal is that we’re true contenders.”
The positive outlook after Cavs lost to the Celtics
Besides Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson speaking of Darius Garland after the game, he also gave some insight into what he wanted to see after the game, which he ponders meeting the Celtics in the foreseeable future “in an important game.”
“We want feedback,” Atkinson said. “More feedback. Hopefully, we’ll see this team down the road — and down the road in an important game. On the other hand, I don’t want to blow this game out of proportion. It’s that balance, but it’s more anxious to see where we are.”
Even with the defeat, though, there were a ton of positives for the Cavs as Mitchell feels the same way, even using the same analogy as Mobley did, citing the game as a “big test.”
“Just that it’s the group I thought we were,” Mitchell said via ESPN. “It’s just a test. This is a big test. Whether you win, lose or draw, it’s just a test. And obviously you want to learn through wins, but we lost tonight. But there’s a lot we can take away from the good in the second half and a lot we can learn from the first half to get better at.”
At any rate, the Cavs are still 15-1, which puts them first in the Eastern Conference as they look to bounce back against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.
