Things started well enough for the Boston Celtics during Friday night’s showdown between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses.
The defending NBA champions shot their way to an 11-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest, forcing Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson to call an early timeout to the delight of the TD Garden crowd. Two minutes later, still less than halfway through the opening quarter, Boston’s lead ballooned to 22 points with help from seven early three-pointers, drawing yet another timeout from a frustrated Cavaliers bench.
“I think obviously the start of the game on defense ignited our offense and how we were playing,” said Celtics star Jayson Tatum, whose team surrendered just three points over the game’s first four-and-a-half minutes.” We did a really good job of what we were trying to do, and the actions and the spacing, and we were trying to attack.”
Boston ended the first half with a 10-point advantage — thanks largely to a 30-point half from Tatum — but struggled to pick up where it left off from there. Instead, it was the Eastern Conference-leading Cavaliers who left celebrating a gritty 123-116 road victory, extending their NBA-leading win streak to nine games.
Cleveland’s bench outscored Boston 33-6 in the contest, a rare feat against a team that prides itself in its depth. Complicating that stat, however, is that the Celtics were without two starters Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jrue Holiday (finger), which elevated the likes of Sam Hauser and Al Horford to the starting lineup.
“In a game when you lose like that, you know, everybody has to be better,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Coaches have to be better, players have to be better. We’ve got to make better adjustments. We’ve got to put guys in position, constantly going back-and-forth. You know, you try to put your team in a position to win.”
The loss put a bitter end to what was a historic night for Tatum, who became the first player in the play-by-play era to post a 30-9-7 half. The five-time All-NBA selection ended the game just one assist shy of his second triple-double in two weeks, finishing with a game-high 46 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists.
Jaylen Brown also had a huge game for the home team, netting 37 points for what was his second-highest point total of the season — he scored 44 in a win against the Pacers on Dec. 27. Derrick White was the only other Celtics player to score in double figures, finishing with 16 points.
“Guys on both ends tonight were making shots,” Tatum said of the high-scoring affair. “I think in the second half, they made a run in that third quarter, getting some offensive rebounds. They took more shots than we did, so that just kind of gave them some life. And in the moments that we needed to get a stop, we didn’t, and that was tough.”
All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 41 points, including 12 in the decisive fourth quarter, followed by Darius Garland (20 points, seven assists), Evan Mobley (17 points, 12 rebounds), De’Andre Hunter (12 points, five rebounds), and Jarrett Allen (10 points, four rebounds). The Cavaliers are now 2-2 against the Celtics this season.
Cleveland (49-10) will look to extend its win streak to 10 games on Sunday when it hosts a Portland Trailblazers (27-33) team fresh off four consecutive wins of its own. Meanwhile, Boston (42-18) will also be back in action Sunday when it hosts the Denver Nuggets (39-21). In their last outing Friday, Denver beat the Detroit Pistons, 134-119.
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