BOSTON — The Cleveland Cavaliers were probably already going to finish first in the East and head into the playoffs with home-court advantage over the defending champions.
But on Friday night, in the last meeting of the regular season between the Cavs and the Boston Celtics, Cleveland picked up the internal validation it needed before the postseason begins: A win over the Celtics, on the road, and a 2-2 split in the season series.
The Cavs shook off a 22-point first-quarter deficit and recovered to win 123-116 behind a season-high 41 points from Donovan Mitchell. The win was Cleveland’s ninth in a row — its last loss was Feb. 4 against these same Celtics — and with it the Cavs improved to an NBA-best 49-10. They’ve already won more games than they did last season, which ended with a second-round loss in the playoffs to Boston.
It was Cleveland’s largest comeback in 11 years; the Cavs also overcame a 22-point deficit to beat the Celtics on March 5, 2014.
Darius Garland added 20 points for Cleveland and Evan Mobley shook off foul trouble to score 11 of his 17 points in the final quarter.
The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum’s season-highs of 46 points and 16 rebounds. Jaylen Brown added 37 points and Derrick White contributed 16 points. Boston was without two key starters, Jrue Holiday (finger injury) and Kristaps Porziņģis (illness). The way things started Friday night, it looked like neither of them would be needed.
The Celtics scored the game’s first 11 points and were ahead 25-3 (not a misprint) before five minutes were out. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson called two timeouts in that span, but neither blunted Boston’s momentum or the early delirium among the home fans that exploded the decibel level inside TD Garden. The Celtics already had seven 3s in the first 4:49, and both Tatum and Brown were getting every look they wanted (and converted them).
Tatum finished the opening quarter with 18 points and by halftime had 30 points, nine boards and seven assists. The Cavs actually cut the deficit to two points in the second quarter, but Boston closed the half strong and led 74-64 behind 14 collective 3s. The Celtics made just three more treys for the game; the Cavs equaled them with 17 3s of their own.
Cleveland made a strong push in the third quarter, using a 10-0 spurt late in the period and 14 points from Mitchell to cut Boston’s lead to 98-95. Tatum’s layup with 11 seconds left stopped the Cavs’ run and gave him 40 points heading to the fourth.
Mobley exited the game early in the third with his fourth foul. He returned and scored Cleveland’s first 10 points of the fourth. The Cavs tied the game at 101 with 9:09 left on a Mobley free throw and then took their first lead on the next possession, thanks to a Mobley 3.
Brown re-tied the game at 114 with 3:15 left on a 20-footer. Mitchell, who scored 12 in the fourth, put the Cavs ahead for good with a short floater on the ensuing possession, and then completed an old-fashioned three-point play for a 119-114 advantage with 1:57 left.
The Celtics, 42-18, are comfortably in second in the East. Assuming the bracket holds, both teams will have to win two series to meet in the Eastern finals for the first time since 2018. It’s certainly shaping up that way; it had been three years in the NBA since the top two teams in either conference met this late in the season with winning percentages of at least .700.
The Cavs, meanwhile, are the first team since the 2021-22 Phoenix Suns to have at least three winning streaks of eight or more games. If Cleveland beats Portland on Sunday, it would be the 12th team in league history to win 50 of its first 60 games.
This story will be updated.
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)
