Cavaliers Star Found This ‘Ridiculous’ In Game 4 Loss To Celtics

One of the best players on the floor in Celtics-Cavaliers Game 4 seemingly didn’t believe the NBA playoff contest was properly officiated.

Boston’s ability to get to the charity stripe and knock down free throws was a big reason why it came out on top Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The visitors converted on 21 of 24 free-throw attempts in their 109-102 win, which gave them a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

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Cleveland, meanwhile, was a virtual stranger to the line. The Donovan Mitchell-less Cavaliers only attempted seven (!) free throws in their second straight home loss to the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed.

Darius Garland felt his team’s lack of trips to the free-throw line was jarring.

“Seven free throws and two of them were techs, so five total in a 48-minute game. It’s tough,” Garland told reporters, per Sports Illustrated. “This is our second time in the playoffs this year with under 10 free throws. I’m not going to go into it, but that’s ridiculous for the amount of drives that we have, the amount of paint attacks, whatever you want to call it. It’s just really tough having seven free throws in a basketball game when (Boston) is getting 24.”

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Should the difference in free-throw attempts between the two teams have been that lopsided? Probably not. But the Cavaliers’ limited number of trips to the line is less “ridiculous” when you consider they attempted 48 3-pointers Monday evening.

Regardless, Cleveland can’t afford to dwell on possible shaky officiating or any other shortcomings. The Cavs must focus on trying to keep their season alive Wednesday night when they visit the C’s for Game 5.