The Big Lead

NBA fans are all agreeing with analyst about one thing for Celtics vs. Cavaliers game, 'Felt like torture'

By Aikansh Chaudhary

Dec 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Dec 12, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics are the top two teams in the Eastern Conference this season. Evidently, the battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 seed was circled on the calendars of many.

Ultimately, the Celtics were outplayed by Donovan Mitchell and the Cavs' late-game rally as the star guard scored 20 out of his 35 points in the fourth quarter.

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Mitchell's phenomenal quarter helped the Cavs register a solid 115-111 win over the defending NBA champions.

Although it was a close game, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla's late-game strategy received major flak from fans. NBA analyst Kevin O'Connor pointed it out with a tweet on X (formerly known as Twitter).

"The final 34 seconds of Cavaliers-Celtics took 17 minutes of real time to complete," O'Connor wrote.

O'Connor also claimed that the game felt like torture down the wire. But why? It was due to the two teams exchanging fouls in the final moments of the game rather than letting the game reach a conclusion.

Fans on X agreed with O'Connor's take.

One fan said: "Make intentional fouls 1 shot & ball. Shouldn't be able to foul to prevent 3's."

Another added: "NBA is unwatchable atm."

A fan suggested a solution: "They gotta change the game so that shooting fouls result in the team keeping the ball."

For context, the Cavs and the Celtics had a total of 10 foul calls in the final 26 seconds of the matchup. It's no surprise that at one moment, the game became unwatchable for the crowd.

Hopefully, NBA commissioner Adam Silver can introduce a change to the rules to avoid other games meeting the same fate in the long run.

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