The Cleveland Cavaliers’ lengthy win streak to start the 2024-25 NBA regular season finally ended on Tuesday night, with the Boston Celtics taking the honor of being the first team to defeat the Cavs this campaign.
The reigning NBA champions scored a 120-117 victory over Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers in an NBA Cup group play game at TD Garden, but the Celtics certainly did not net that win easily.
Boston had a big lead early on, but Cleveland used a huge third-quarter scoring onslaught to put immense pressure on the Celtics. Boston eventually did just enough to hold off the Cavs, who dropped to 15-1. The C’s, on the other hand, improved to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in home games this season.
After the game, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla seemed to love the challenge presented to them by the Cavs and said that he wanted other teams to take the fight to the Celtics.
Via Bobby Manning of Celtics on CLNS:
Mazzulla: “I hope teams continue to be physical, because it helps get us reps.”
Boston Celtics skewer Cleveland Cavaliers with hot 3-point shooting
Against the Cavs, Boston mainly used its incredible perimeter shooting to douse cold water on the red-hot Cleveland side. The defending champs shot 22-for-41 from behind the arc, with Jayson Tatum leading the attack. Tatum dropped 33 points on the Cavaliers, shooting 11-for-22 from the field, including a 6-for-10 line from deep.
The Celtics will next face a lightweight on Friday when they take on the Washington Wizards on the road.
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