CLEVELAND — It was another matchup between the top two contenders in the Eastern Conference. This time, the Celtics came out on top with a 112-105 win in a game that came down to the final minute.
In a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview, the Cavaliers, owners of the NBA’s best record entering Tuesday at 40-9, nearly erased a 20-point deficit but eventually fell to the Celtics (35-15 entering the game), who ended Cleveland’s playoff run in the second round last year.
The Cavs were coming off a historic 144-point explosion against the Dallas Mavericks. Cleveland’s blowout win Sunday came on the heels of Dallas’ stunning Luka Doncic trade.
Tipoff for Cavs versus Celtics occurred shortly after 7:30 p.m. Check back here for live score updates, analysis and highlights from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Celtics beat the Cavs
The Cavs have fallen to the Celtics, 112-105.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Donovan Mitchell finished with a game-high 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the loss. Darius Garland had 25 points and three assists. Jarrett Allen scored 17 points and grabbed 18 rebounds.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum led the way with 22 points and seven assists. Derrick White had 20 points while hitting six 3s. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The Cavs had a chance yo cut it to a one-possession game with under 30 seconds left, but Mobley’s pass was intercepted by Tatum, and that was the end for the Cavs’ comeback attempt.
Jayson Tatum steal puts Cavs down 6 with 15 seconds left
Down 109-104, it looked like the Cavs might be buried when Payton Pritchard grabbed an offensive rebound after a miss by Al Horford. But Donovan Mitchell quickly came up with a steal to keep the Cavs’ hopes alive.
But Cleveland couldn’t find a quick shot in transition. Mitchell passed it to Max Strus, who didn’t have enough space and handed it off to Evan Mobley.
Mobley, too, couldn’t find any room and tried to pass it the other side of the court, and it was stolen by Jayson Tatum with 22 seconds left.
Tatum was later fouled with 15.2 seconds left and hit one of his two free throw attempts, making it 110-104.
Darius Garland 4-point play keeps Cavs alive in final minute against Celtics
Trailing 109-100 with under a minute to go, the Cavs are in desperation territory. Garland might have given them one extra life, as he quickly drilled a 3 while drawing a foul and hitting the free throw to make it 109-104.
Derrick White scores 8 consecutive points, Celtics extend lead late in fourth quarter
Derrick White might have delivered the dagger to the Cavs.
White has scored eight consecutive points for the Celtics, including back-to-back 3s, to put Boston up 107-97 with 2:30 left. The last 3 bounced and rolled around the rim before falling. White now has 20 points tonight.
Max Strus fouls Kristaps Porzingis, then mocks him for flopping
With Boston leading 99-95, Strus was called for a foul on Kristaps Porzingis, who was setting a pick. Strus was upset, and began mockingly flailing his arms to say Porzingis was flopping.
A few seconds later, Strus was again called for a foul as Porzingis again fell to the floor after some contact. And, again, Strus seemed to indicate Porzingis was going down due to a flop.
The second play was reviewed, but still called a common foul. After the review, Strus was still arguing his case with the refs before he and Porzingis talked.
Strus was then called for a third foul on the same possession while battling Jayson Tatum for a rebound.
Cavs, Celtics score update: Cleveland makes it 4-point game midway through fourth quarter
The Cavs are slowly chipping away.
The Celtics have gone a bit cold shooting from the floor, and the Cavs have taken advantage to close the gap.
Donovan Mitchell has taken over Cleveland’s offense. He hit a jumper to make it 97-92, and after a Boston basket, Mitchell drove to the hoop and got the and-1 layup to fall while being fouled. He hit the free throw, cutting it to 99-95 with 5:30 left.
Sam Merrill limping, but hits 3 as Cavs still trail Celtics in fourth quarter
Sam Merrill appears to be hurt, as he hit the floor while on defense, but it didn’t stop him from getting up, running in transition and hitting a 3 that has cut the Celtics’ lead to 95-84 with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter.
Merrill limped to the bench and grimaced after hitting the shot. He has 12 points tonight.
Cavs are behind Celtics 87-75 at the end of the third quarter.
The Cavs found themselves in an 87-75 hole when the third quarter ended.
Cleveland had cut its deficit to six points roughly midway through the third quarter, but Boston responded to bolster its cushion.
Celtics All-Star starter Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter. Cavs All-Star starter Donovan Mitchell had a game-high 24 points through three quarters. Mitchell scored 11 points in the third quarter. Cavs point guard Darius Garland had 12 of his 17 points in the third quarter.
Celtics boost lead to 80-67 with 2:23 left in the third quarter vs. Cavs
Celtics guard Payton Pritchard stole the ball from Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell and passed to forward Jayson Tatum for a fast-break dunk.
The play gave Boston an 80-67 lead and prompted the Cavs to use a timeout with 2:23 remaining in the third quarter.
Cavs trim Celtics’ lead to 66-60 with 5:42 left in the third quarter
The Cavs used a 5-0 run to cut their deficit to 66-60 with 5:42 left.
The sequence went like this: Point guard Darius Garland made a free throw after Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was whistled for a technical foul. Small forward Max Strus cut through the paint and made a layup on an assist from center Jarrett Allen. Then Strus missed a corner 3-pointer, but Allen had a putback layup.
The Celtics took a timeout.
Boston Celtics lead Cleveland Cavaliers 66-55 with 7:00 left in the third quarter
The Cavs faced a 66-55 deficit with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Cavs have seemingly been willing to concede jump shots to Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis, even allowing point guard Darius Garland to guard him on switches. Porzingis has seven points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field so far in the third quarter.
Cavs trail Celtics by 10 at halftime
The Cavs closed the first half on a higher note but will still enter halftime trailing 54-44.
Donovan Mitchell has 13 points and five rebounds. Jarrett Allen already has a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown has paced the Celtics with 16 points and six rebounds.
Neither team has shot well. The Cavs are shooting 30 percent from the floor and 16 percent from 3-point range. The Celtics are only marginally better at 35 percent and 29 percent, respectively.
This game has had every bit the feel of a defensive, possession-by-possession playoff game.
Cleveland’s 44 points through two quarters are its new season low for a first-half total. The Cavs had 45 points in the first half of a 110-104 win at the New York Knicks on Oct. 28, 2024.
Who’s winning the Cavs-Celtics game?
The Celtics are just bringing it to the Cavs. In a clear way, Boston is bullying Cleveland and pushing them around, and the Celtics have a 50-38 lead with 2:31 left in the second quarter.
The Cavs haven’t been able to cover all of Boston’s spacing around the perimeter, something that might be deeply impacted by the absences of both Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro tonight.
If not for Sam Merrill, who just hit two quick 3s, the Cavs would be in much serious trouble.
Cavs, Celtics score: Boston opens second quarter on 7-0 run
The Celtics continue to heavily pressure the Cavs.
After a rough first-quarter offensively for Cleveland, the Celtics have started the second quarter on a run and extended the lead to 35-15 with 10:56 to go in the second quarter.
The Cavs have already committed five turnovers, and Cleveland’s offense looks a bit stifled coming off a historic performance against the Mavericks.
Outside of Mitchell’s dunk, it’s been a slow night thus far for Cleveland. The Cavs are shooting just 22 percent from the floor while hitting only one of their 11 3-point attempts.
Cleveland Cavaliers trail Boston Celtics 28-15 at the end of the first quarter
The Cavs trailed the Celtics 28-15 at the end of the opening quarter.
Cleveland’s dreadful quarter of shooting (6 of 26 from the field, including 1 of 10 on 3-pointers) and Boston holding a 7-0 edge in second-chance points and a 12-2 advantage in bench scoring hurt the Cavs early.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown had a game-high 12 points through a quarter, followed by Cavs guard Donovan Mitchell with nine points.
Celtics lead Cavs 18-13 with 2:40 left in the first quarter
Brown scored Boston’s first 12 points, and backup guard Payton Pritchard made a 3-pointer with 3:42 left in the first quarter to give the Celtics their first non-Brown points of the game.
The Cavs trailed 18-13 when Boston called timeout with 2:40 left in the first quarter. Mitchell had nine of Cleveland’s first 13 points.
Donovan Mitchell fires up Cavs, Cleveland crowd with poster dunk over Kristaps Porzingis. Cavaliers lead Celtics 6-4 with 6:45 left in first quarter
On a bobblehead night featuring a dunking Mitchell figurine, it proved to be fitting when the All-Star starter posterized Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis with 7:14 left in the first quarter. Mitchell’s teammates and the crowd went wild.
The highlight dunk gave the Cavs a 6-4 lead. Cleveland led by the same score when it called timeout with 6:45 left in the opening quarter. Point guard Darius Garland had taken an elbow to the face, but he remained in the game. Small forward Max Strus came limping to the bench when the timeout was called. However, he also stayed in the game.
More Cavs vs. Celtics:Donovan Mitchell throws down huge dunk over Kristaps Porzingis. Watch the video
Here is some pregame information:
Cavs injury report
The Cavs will again be without forwards Isaac Okoro (sprained AC joint in right shoulder) and Dean Wade (right knee bone bruise). Their absences have hampered Cleveland’s perimeter defense.
During Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson’s pregame media availability, he said Okoro and Wade were on the court shooting earlier Tuesday but aren’t taking contact yet. Atkinson added he expects Okoro and Wade to ramp up after the Feb. 14-19 All-Star break.
“It’s not going to be superlong, I don’t think, in my opinion,” Atkinson said of Okoro and Wade returning to game action.
Cavs news:Donovan Mitchell wins first Eastern Conference Player of the Week of season as Cavaliers surge
Celtics injury report
The Celtics have a clear injury report heading into Tuesday’s game. Guard Payton Pritchard missed Boston’s last game with an illness but is expected to play.
Cleveland Cavaliers broadcast information. How can I watch on TV, listen on radio or stream the Cavs, Celtics game?
Tuesday’s game can be watched nationally on TNT. It can be heard locally on the radio via WMMS (100.7-FM) and WTAM (1100-AM).
