Jayson Tatum scores 22, Celtics hold off Cavaliers 112-105 in matchup of Eastern Conference's best
CLEVELAND (AP) Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20 and the Boston Celtics showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a 112-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top teams.
The defending NBA titlists executed in the final minutes and held off the Cavs, who lost for just the fourth time in 28 home games.
Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 with nine rebounds as Boston won its fourth straight and improved to 2-1 against Cleveland this season.
Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Darius Garland 25 for the Cavs, who cut a 15-point deficit to four in the fourth quarter.
But the Celtics, who have won four straight, didn't buckle and responded in every crucial moment to put away the Cavs.
Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Cleveland.
Celtics: Porzingis' presence makes Boston that much tougher to defend. The 7-foot-3 big man was injured and missed last year's playoff series against Cleveland. The Cavs continually got caught making bad switches while trying to guard Porzingis.
Cavaliers: All-Star Evan Mobley had a rough night. He finished with just 7 points on 3 of 14 shooting and failed to make a significant impact at either end. Mobley recently returned from a calf injury and doesn't seem to have his explisiveness back.
After the Cavs pulled within four late in the fourth, White hit a short jumper followed by back-to-back 3-pointers to give Boston a 107-97 lead with 2:41 left.
Cleveland started just 1 of 14 on 3-pointers and finished 11 of 39 (28%) behind the arc. They've made at least 10 3s in 55 straight games.
On Thursday, the Celtics host Dallas, which just acquired Anthony Davis from the Lakers in a superstar swap for Luka Doncic. The Cavaliers are in Detroit on Wednesday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Kristaps Porzingis vs. Jarrett Allen (Darius Garland gains possession) | ||
| 11:52 | | Donovan Mitchell turnover (lost ball) (Derrick White steals) | ||
| 11:45 |  | Kristaps Porzingis misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:42 | | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | ||
| 11:27 | | Evan Mobley misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:24 | | Evan Mobley offensive rebound | ||
| 11:22 | | Darius Garland misses three point jump shot | ||
| 11:19 | | Jaylen Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 11:13 | | Jaylen Brown misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:09 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 10:56 | | +2 | Jarrett Allen makes two point driving dunk (Darius Garland assists) | 0-2 |
| 10:34 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point pullup jump shot | 2-2 |
| 10:21 | | Jrue Holiday shooting foul (Jarrett Allen draws the foul) | ||
| 10:21 | | +1 | Jarrett Allen makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 2-3 |
| 10:21 | | +1 | Jarrett Allen makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 2-4 |
| 10:07 | | Jrue Holiday misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:04 | | Derrick White offensive rebound | ||
| 9:53 | | Jrue Holiday misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 9:51 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 9:48 | | Jaylen Brown personal foul (Donovan Mitchell draws the foul) | ||
| 9:40 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:37 | | Jrue Holiday defensive rebound | ||
| 9:28 | | Jayson Tatum misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 9:24 | | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | ||
| 9:14 | | Evan Mobley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:10 | | Jaylen Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 9:05 | | Derrick White misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 9:03 | | Max Strus defensive rebound | ||
| 8:50 | | Darius Garland turnover (bad pass) (Jrue Holiday steals) | ||
| 8:44 | | Jrue Holiday misses two point running layup | ||
| 8:42 | | Max Strus defensive rebound | ||
| 8:37 | | Evan Mobley misses two point driving hook shot | ||
| 8:35 | | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | ||
| 8:34 | | Kristaps Porzingis blocks Jarrett Allen's two point putback layup | ||
| 8:30 | | Jrue Holiday defensive rebound | ||
| 8:27 | | Kristaps Porzingis misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:21 | | Jaylen Brown offensive rebound | ||
| 8:21 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point tip layup | 4-4 |
| 8:16 | | Jarrett Allen offensive foul (Jrue Holiday draws the foul) | ||
| 8:16 | | Jarrett Allen turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 7:56 | | Jaylen Brown misses two point driving reverse layup | ||
| 7:53 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 7:36 | | Kristaps Porzingis blocks Evan Mobley's two point driving layup | ||
| 7:32 | | Evan Mobley offensive rebound | ||
| 7:31 | | Jayson Tatum blocks Evan Mobley's two point putback layup | ||
| 7:28 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 7:23 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 7:21 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 7:14 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving dunk | 4-6 |
| 7:13 | | Cavaliers delay of game violation | ||
| 6:55 | | Kristaps Porzingis misses three point jump shot | ||
| 6:52 | | Evan Mobley defensive rebound | ||
| 6:45 | | Cavaliers 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:34 | | Darius Garland misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 6:33 | | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | ||
| 6:32 | | Jarrett Allen misses two point tip layup | ||
| 6:31 | | Jarrett Allen offensive rebound | ||
| 6:31 | | Jarrett Allen misses two point tip layup | ||
| 6:31 | | Jaylen Brown defensive rebound | ||
| 6:31 | | Jarrett Allen personal foul (Jrue Holiday draws the foul) | ||
| 6:15 | | Jaylen Brown offensive foul (Darius Garland draws the foul) | ||
| 6:15 | | Jaylen Brown turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 6:03 | | Darius Garland misses two point driving floating jump shot | ||
| 6:00 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 5:50 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point driving layup (Kristaps Porzingis assists) | 6-6 |
| 5:50 | | Max Strus shooting foul (Jaylen Brown draws the foul) | ||
| 5:50 | | +1 | Jaylen Brown makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 7-6 |
| 5:36 | | Jarrett Allen misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 5:34 | | Kristaps Porzingis defensive rebound | ||
| 5:22 | | Derrick White misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:19 | | Jarrett Allen defensive rebound | ||
| 5:08 | | Georges Niang misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:08 | | Celtics defensive rebound | ||
| 5:08 | | Max Strus personal foul (Loose ball) (Kristaps Porzingis draws the foul) | ||
| 4:47 | | Jarrett Allen blocks Kristaps Porzingis's two point cutting dunk | ||
| 4:43 | | Ty Jerome defensive rebound | ||
| 4:39 | | Darius Garland misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:37 | | Jrue Holiday defensive rebound | ||
| 4:36 | | Darius Garland personal foul (Derrick White draws the foul) | ||
| 4:27 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point driving layup | 9-6 |
| 4:13 | | Georges Niang misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:12 | | Derrick White defensive rebound | ||
| 4:09 | | +2 | Jaylen Brown makes two point running layup (Derrick White assists) | 11-6 |
| 4:09 | | Georges Niang shooting foul (Jaylen Brown draws the foul) | ||
| 4:09 | | +1 | Jaylen Brown makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 12-6 |
| 3:57 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 12-8 |
| 3:42 | | +3 | Payton Pritchard makes three point jump shot (Luke Kornet assists) | 15-8 |
| 3:20 | | +3 | Donovan Mitchell makes three point pullup jump shot | 15-11 |
| 3:07 | | Al Horford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 3:05 | | Al Horford offensive rebound | ||
| 2:59 | | Payton Pritchard misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 2:55 | | Al Horford offensive rebound | ||
| 2:52 | | +3 | Derrick White makes three point jump shot (Jaylen Brown assists) | 18-11 |
| 2:41 | | +2 | Donovan Mitchell makes two point driving floating jump shot | 18-13 |
| 2:40 | | Celtics 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:27 | | Al Horford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:20 | | Payton Pritchard offensive rebound | ||
| 2:19 | | Al Horford misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:17 | | Caris LeVert defensive rebound | ||
| 2:12 | | Evan Mobley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 2:10 | | Al Horford defensive rebound | ||
| 1:57 | | Donovan Mitchell personal foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 1:57 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 19-13 |
| 1:57 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 20-13 |
| 1:43 | | Evan Mobley misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 1:40 | | Jayson Tatum defensive rebound | ||
| 1:34 | | +3 | Al Horford makes three point jump shot (Jayson Tatum assists) | 23-13 |
| 1:21 | | Caris LeVert turnover (bad pass) (Luke Kornet steals) | ||
| 1:16 | | Sam Hauser misses two point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:16 | | Cavaliers defensive rebound | ||
| 1:06 | | Caris LeVert misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 1:03 | | Sam Hauser defensive rebound | ||
| 0:54 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 0:50 | | Luke Kornet offensive rebound | ||
| 0:50 | | +2 | Al Horford makes two point layup (Luke Kornet assists) | 25-13 |
| 0:41 | | Sam Hauser personal foul (Ty Jerome draws the foul) | ||
| 0:29 | | +2 | Ty Jerome makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Donovan Mitchell assists) | 25-15 |
| 0:10 | | +3 | Al Horford makes three point jump shot (Jayson Tatum assists) | 28-15 |
| 0:00 | | Donovan Mitchell misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 0:00 | | Cavaliers offensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:46 | | Al Horford misses two point layup | ||
| 11:43 | | Luke Kornet offensive rebound | ||
| 11:43 | | +2 | Luke Kornet makes two point tip layup | 30-15 |
| 11:30 | | Caris LeVert misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 11:27 | | Payton Pritchard defensive rebound | ||
| 11:21 | | +3 | Jayson Tatum makes three point jump shot (Payton Pritchard assists) | 33-15 |
| 11:05 | | Caris LeVert turnover (bad pass) (Jayson Tatum steals) | ||
| 11:03 | | Georges Niang shooting foul (Jayson Tatum draws the foul) | ||
| 11:03 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 34-15 |
| 11:03 | | +1 | Jayson Tatum makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 35-15 |
| 10:56 | | Sam Hauser shooting foul (Sam Merrill draws the foul) | ||
| 10:56 | | Celtics 60 second timeout | ||
| 10:56 | | +1 | Sam Merrill makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 35-16 |
| 10:56 | | +1 | Sam Merrill makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 35-17 |
| 10:56 | | +1 | Sam Merrill makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 35-18 |
| 10:42 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:38 | | Sam Hauser offensive rebound | ||
| 10:35 | | Jayson Tatum misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:33 | | Donovan Mitchell defensive rebound | ||
| 10:26 | | Jayson Tatum blocks Donovan Mitchell's two point driving layup | ||
| 10:23 | | Ty Jerome offensive rebound | ||
| 10:21 | | Ty Jerome misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 10:20 | | Evan Mobley offensive rebound |