'All my responsibility': Darius Garland, Cavs search for scoring with Donovan Mitchell out

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have never needed Darius Garland more than they do right now as they return to Boston with their backs against the wall and their playoff lives on the line.

The Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell in Game 4, as he was sidelined with a left calf strain. And they were still without center Jarrett Allen, who has missed the last seven playoff games with a ribs injury.

The Mitchell-and-Allen-less Cavs gave the top-seeded Celtics a pretty good run for their money, but in the end, they didn't have the firepower needed to keep up in a 109-102 loss in Game 4 Monday night.

The Celtics now hold a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5 Wednesday night in Boston. The Celtics, the No. 1 seed in the East, have a chance to close out the series. They were the only 60-plus-win team in the NBA this season. They'll be at home. And the Cavs could be without their star guard and top scorer, along with their defensive linchpin at center.

Mitchell averaged 35 points per game over the previous five playoff games before going down with the injury. His teammates had just started to call him "Superman." It's possible he could miss Game 5, another tough blow to an offense that needs scoring help as it is. Even if he does play, he'd likely be limited at a time when the Cavs can't afford it.

Darius Garland says it's his 'responsibility' to pick up scoring pace with Donovan Mitchell hurt

Either way, with one more loss meaning the Cavs' playoff run is over — and the odds heavily against them if Mitchell and Allen remain out — it'll fall on several players to pick up the scoring pace in a last-ditch effort to extend the series a couple more days, and see if they can return to Cleveland one more time. It's certainly not on only one player to try to replace the production left behind without Mitchell, if he remains sidelined.

But nobody will have to carry more of that individual burden than Garland.

“It's all my responsibility,” Garland said at shootaround before Game 4. “I'm the leader of the floor, so just have to take control, be aggressive, make the right play and just try to get downhill.”

On that, he delivered. Garland scored a team-high 30 points in the Cavs' Game 4 loss, finishing 12-of-27 from the floor and 4-of-13 from 3-point range. He had scored 15 or fewer points in all but two of the Cavs' 10 playoff games entering Monday night, so this was easily his best playoff game this year.

And in a game against the 64-win Celtics, without Mitchell or Allen, it was almost enough for the Cavs to steal a playoff game against long odds.

"I mean, he knows he's capable, and we've seen Darius carry this team before, so it's not a surprise," said J.B. Bickerstaff after the game. "He just knew what he had to do in order to give us a chance tonight, and I thought he did it."

Cavaliers facing elimination in Game 5 against Boston, possibly without Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen

The Cavs will still need more to stave off elimination Wednesday night, and they'll need it from Garland, Evan Mobley, Max Strus, Caris LeVert and others. It's a tall task.

The Cavs squaring up against the No. 1 seed Celtics without Mitchell and Allen is a bleak picture. Garland's 30 points gave the shorthanded Cavs a fighting chance to even the series.

"He's a warrior. [He] did what we needed him to do," said Strus, who scored 15 points in the first half but had zero after halftime. "I got to find a way to step up and do more to help him. We all do. We all need to do something more to find a way to win."

Without Mitchell, it's a reminder of the Cavs teams before the blockbuster trade brought "Spida" to Cleveland from Utah. And if the Cavs are to extend their playoff run a few more days with a win in Game 5, and possibly hold off on an uncertain future for Mitchell entering this summer a bit longer, they'll have to win that way again.

"We know that Darius is capable of ... I think people kind of forget about roles that are placed on players in the NBA," LeVert said. "Obviously before Donovan got here, Darius was the guy here. He was an All-Star. ... Obviously we've all kind of had to take a step back and sacrificed a little bit, but Darius is, I mean, he's DG. He's capable of doing that."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs Darius Garland must lead with Donovan Mitchell out vs Celtics