BOSTON -- — The defending NBA champions held off the league’s hottest team on Tuesday night, with Jayson Tatum scoring 33 points and adding 12 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 120-117 victory over Cleveland and hand the Cavaliers their first loss after 15 straight wins to open the season.

Cleveland cut a 21-point deficit to two in the third quarter, and Donovan Mitchell hit a rainbow 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to make it a four-point game. Tatum sank one of two free throws, and then clobbered Mitchell at the other end, leaving the Cavaliers guard on the floor in need of medical attention.

Mitchell eventually stepped to the line and sank both free throws, but Boston inbounded the ball without trouble and passed it downcourt for an easy Al Horford dunk to clinch it.

Tatum sank six of Boston’s 22 3-pointers, and added seven assists for Boston’s third straight win.

Mitchell scored 35 points, and Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were the fourth team in NBA history to open the season with 15 wins in a row. The 15-game winning streak was longest in Cavaliers franchise history.

Takeaways

Cleveland was an early surprise as the top team in the Eastern Conference, but it knows it will not be easy to get past Boston, should they meet in the playoffs.

Key moment

The Celtics scored 19 of the last 26 points in the second quarter to turn a five-point lead into a 65-48 advantage at the break. Cleveland cut a 21-point deficit to two points in the third.

Key stat

The Celtics were 14 for 22 from 3-point range in the first half. They were up by five points with 5:05 left when they hit four straight 3’s, and six in all down the stretch, opening a 65-48 halftime lead.

Up next

Cavaliers: Host New Orleans on Wednesday.

Celtics: Visit the Washington Wizards on Friday, a day after visiting the White House as a perk of their 18th NBA championship.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Jarrett Allen vs. Al Horford (Evan Mobley gains possession)	0	0
11:42	Donovan Mitchell makes 16-foot driving floating jump shot	0	2
11:23	Jaylen Brown misses 23-foot three point jumper	0	2
11:22	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	0	2
11:02	Darius Garland bad pass (Jayson Tatum steals)	0	2
10:51	Al Horford misses 6-foot two point shot	0	2
10:50	Cavaliers defensive team rebound	0	2
10:39	Evan Mobley misses 25-foot three point jumper	0	2
10:38	Jarrett Allen offensive rebound	0	2
10:35	Jarrett Allen misses two point shot	0	2
10:34	Derrick White defensive rebound	0	2
10:22	Jrue Holiday makes 23-foot three point jumper (Derrick White assists)	3	2
10:09	Darius Garland misses 21-foot pullup jump shot	3	2
10:07	Evan Mobley offensive rebound	3	2
10:02	Darius Garland misses two point shot	3	2
10:00	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	3	2
9:58	Jayson Tatum out of bounds bad pass turnover	3	2
9:52	Jayson Tatum personal foul	3	2
9:46	Darius Garland misses driving layup	3	2
9:44	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	3	2
9:28	Jaylen Brown misses 13-foot two point shot	3	2
9:27	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	3	2
9:20	Donovan Mitchell misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	3	2
9:18	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	3	2
9:12	Jayson Tatum misses two point shot	3	2
9:10	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	3	2
9:06	Evan Mobley lost ball turnover (Jayson Tatum steals)	3	2
9:01	Jaylen Brown misses two point shot	3	2
8:58	Sam Merrill defensive rebound	3	2
8:51	Jarrett Allen makes dunk (Evan Mobley assists)	3	4
8:39	Al Horford makes 26-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	6	4
8:23	Donovan Mitchell misses 26-foot three point jumper	6	4
8:22	Jrue Holiday defensive rebound	6	4
8:06	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup	8	4
8:06	Donovan Mitchell shooting foul	8	4
8:06	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 1 of 1	9	4
7:56	Evan Mobley misses 27-foot three point jumper	9	4
7:55	Derrick White defensive rebound	9	4
7:43	Jaylen Brown makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	12	4
7:41	Cavaliers Full timeout	12	4
7:22	Evan Mobley steps out of bounds turnover	12	4
7:11	Darius Garland blocks Derrick White 's 2-foot layup	12	4
7:09	Derrick White offensive rebound	12	4
7:04	Sam Merrill blocks Jrue Holiday 's 23-foot three point pullup jump shot	12	4
7:02	Jrue Holiday offensive rebound	12	4
7:00	Jrue Holiday bad pass (Evan Mobley steals)	12	4
6:51	Jarrett Allen makes alley oop dunk shot (Evan Mobley assists)	12	6
6:38	Jrue Holiday misses driving layup	12	6
6:37	Celtics offensive team rebound	12	6
6:32	Jaylen Brown misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	12	6
6:31	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	12	6
6:17	Donovan Mitchell misses 21-foot step back jumpshot	12	6
6:15	Jaylen Brown defensive rebound	12	6
6:07	Jayson Tatum makes 27-foot three point jumper (Jaylen Brown assists)	15	6
5:55	Darius Garland makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot	15	8
5:36	Al Horford makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	18	8
5:19	Darius Garland misses two point shot	18	8
5:17	Al Horford defensive rebound	18	8
5:13	Jaylen Brown out of bounds lost ball turnover	18	8
5:13	Payton Pritchard enters the game for Derrick White	18	8
5:13	Sam Hauser enters the game for Jaylen Brown	18	8
5:13	Ty Jerome enters the game for Evan Mobley	18	8
5:13	Georges Niang enters the game for Donovan Mitchell	18	8
4:53	Darius Garland misses driving floating jump shot	18	8
4:51	Georges Niang offensive rebound	18	8
4:43	Darius Garland misses 24-foot three point jumper	18	8
4:41	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	18	8
4:28	Georges Niang personal foul	18	8
4:28	Neemias Queta enters the game for Al Horford	18	8
4:28	Craig Porter Jr. enters the game for Sam Merrill	18	8
4:23	Jrue Holiday makes 2-foot layup (Sam Hauser assists)	20	8
4:12	Darius Garland misses 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	20	8
4:10	Jarrett Allen offensive rebound	20	8
4:08	Jrue Holiday personal foul	20	8
3:56	Ty Jerome makes 16-foot step back jumpshot (Darius Garland assists)	20	10
3:48	Sam Hauser misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	10
3:46	Jarrett Allen defensive rebound	20	10
3:36	Payton Pritchard shooting foul	20	10
3:36	Darius Garland makes free throw 1 of 2	20	11
3:36	Darius Garland makes free throw 2 of 2	20	12
3:21	Payton Pritchard misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	12
3:19	Georges Niang defensive rebound	20	12
3:05	Georges Niang makes 9-foot two point shot (Darius Garland assists)	20	14
3:04	Celtics Full timeout	20	14
3:04	Derrick White enters the game for Jrue Holiday	20	14
3:04	Evan Mobley enters the game for Darius Garland	20	14
3:04	Donovan Mitchell enters the game for Jarrett Allen	20	14
2:48	Evan Mobley blocks Jayson Tatum 's 7-foot driving layup	20	14
2:47	Craig Porter Jr. defensive rebound	20	14
2:39	Evan Mobley makes 1-foot dunk (Georges Niang assists)	20	16
2:17	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup	22	16
2:06	Evan Mobley makes 1-foot dunk (Ty Jerome assists)	22	18
1:52	Jayson Tatum misses 15-foot two point shot	22	18
1:49	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	22	18
1:39	Neemias Queta shooting foul	22	18
1:39	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 2	22	19
1:39	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 2 of 2	22	20
1:22	Payton Pritchard makes 10-foot two point shot	24	20
1:06	Donovan Mitchell misses two point shot	24	20
1:04	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	24	20
54.1	Neemias Queta traveling	24	20
30.1	Evan Mobley misses 20-foot two point shot	24	20
28.1	Payton Pritchard defensive rebound	24	20
7.0	Sam Hauser misses 23-foot three point jumper	24	20
5.1	Neemias Queta offensive rebound	24	20
0.0	Sam Hauser makes 1-foot layup (Neemias Queta assists)	26	20
0.0	(00:00) [Cavaliers] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL)	26	20
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	26	20

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

TD Garden

Boston, MA

Date & Time

12:00 AM, November 20, 2024

Coverage

TNT, NBC Sports BO

Attendance

19,156

Referees

Tony Brothers, Gediminas Petraitis, Danielle Scott

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	44	14	.759	W2
Cleveland	37	24	.607	L2
Milwaukee	26	32	.448	L1
Chicago	24	36	.400	L11
Indiana	15	45	.250	L5

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Boston	39	20	.661	W1
New York	38	22	.633	W1
Toronto	35	25	.583	W1
Philadelphia	33	26	.559	W3
Brooklyn	15	44	.254	L7

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Celtics hand Cavaliers first loss of season, winning 120-117 to end Cleveland's 15-game win streak

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