Undermanned Celtics lose 3rd straight, choke another double digit lead

Sigh. The Celtics have now dropped 3 consecutive games and 4 of their last 5 after losing 118-114 on Monday night in Cleveland. Boston had every chance in the world to win this one, but still somehow managed to come up short at the final buzzer. Entering the 4th with a 92-78 lead, the Celtics were outscored 31-17 in the final period to send it to overtime for the 2nd consecutive night.
In the 4th, Derrick White hit a 3 to put the C's up 109-107 with 14 seconds left. However, Donovan Mitchell countered with 2 free throws to tie the game at 109 with 5 seconds on the clock. Boston then had a burst from Payton Pritchard, getting to the cup and creating an offensive rebound for Grant Williams, who was fouled with 0.8 seconds left. Needing 1 of 2 free throws to win the game, Grant was unable to convert on either and the game was sent to Overtime, where the Celtics fell short. Jaylen Brown put in a hell of a performance on the 2nd night of a back to back, finishing the night with 32 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. On the other side, Donovan Mitchell continued to torch the Celtics, as he recorded his 3rd 40 point game against Boston this year. Evan Mobley was huge for the Cavs inside with the absence of the entire Celtics front court, finishing the game with 25 points and 16 boards, all on a super efficient 10/14 shooting.
The Celtics now sit 3 games behind Milwaukee in the loss column and desparately need to get things turned around if they want any chance at the #1 seed. With Philadelphia now just a game back for the #2 as well, it's now or never for Boston, who return home Wednesday night to take on Portland. As much as I hate to say a regular season game is a must win, Wednesday night is about as close as it gets, especially with a 6 game road trip starting Saturday in Atlanta.