BOSTON -- — Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 on Friday night in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

Darius Garland added 20 points and seven assists. Evan Mobley finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his 27th double-double to give Cleveland a split in the four-game series with the playoffs just over two months away.

Jayson Tatum finished with 46 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. Jaylen Brown added 37 points, marking the first time Boston’s top stars both posted 30-point games this season.

The Cavaliers had all of their players available, while the Celtics played without starters Jrue Holiday (finger) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness).

It did nothing to stymie the Celtics early as they sprinted out to a 25-3 lead. But after a cold start the Cavs responded, going on a 41-22 run to get back into the game.

Takeaways

Cavaliers: The victory, even without the Celtics at full strength, is a huge mental boost for a Cavs team that was eliminated 4-1 by the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs last season.

Celtics: Boston is now just 18-11 at home.

Key moment

Trailing 114-110, the Celtics got back-to-back stops, each followed by buckets by Brown to tie the game. Mitchell scored on a floater to put the Cavaliers back in front. Then, following a miss by Brown on Boston’s next possession, Mitchell hit a driving layup and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to put the Cavs in front 119-114 with 1:57 remaining.

Key stat

Tatum had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the opening 24 minutes, the first player ever to reach those totals in a half during the play-by-play era (1997-98).

Up next

Both teams play on Sunday. The Cavaliers host the Trail Blazers. The Celtics host the Nuggets.

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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 (Derrick White gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Jaylen Brown makes 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	3	0
11:25	Donovan Mitchell misses 30-foot three point pullup jump shot	3	0
11:22	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	3	0
11:14	Jaylen Brown back court turnover	3	0
11:04	Evan Mobley misses 25-foot three point jumper	3	0
11:01	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	3	0
10:41	Jayson Tatum makes 15-foot pullup jump shot (Jaylen Brown assists)	5	0
10:34	Donovan Mitchell lost ball turnover (Derrick White steals)	5	0
10:29	Sam Hauser makes 24-foot three point shot (Jayson Tatum assists)	8	0
10:17	Darius Garland misses 27-foot three point pullup jump shot	8	0
10:15	Al Horford defensive rebound	8	0
10:05	Derrick White makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	11	0
10:04	Cavaliers Full timeout	11	0
9:52	Evan Mobley makes 1-foot dunk (Darius Garland assists)	11	2
9:31	Derrick White misses 23-foot three point jumper	11	2
9:29	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	11	2
9:15	Max Strus misses 25-foot three point shot	11	2
9:13	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	11	2
8:58	Jayson Tatum makes 25-foot three pointer	14	2
8:44	Evan Mobley misses 24-foot three point jumper	14	2
8:42	Sam Hauser defensive rebound	14	2
8:28	Jayson Tatum bad pass (Jarrett Allen steals)	14	2
8:22	Jarrett Allen bad pass (Derrick White steals)	14	2
8:17	Jaylen Brown makes 24-foot running pullup jump shot (Derrick White assists)	17	2
8:05	Jaylen Brown shooting foul	17	2
8:05	Donovan Mitchell makes free throw 1 of 2	17	3
8:05	Donovan Mitchell misses free throw 2 of 2	17	3
8:03	Sam Hauser defensive rebound	17	3
7:51	Jaylen Brown misses driving layup	17	3
7:49	Jaylen Brown offensive rebound	17	3
7:48	Jaylen Brown makes two point shot	19	3
7:38	Donovan Mitchell misses driving layup	19	3
7:38	Al Horford defensive rebound	19	3
7:32	Sam Hauser misses 23-foot three point shot	19	3
7:29	Jayson Tatum offensive rebound	19	3
7:27	Sam Hauser makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	22	3
7:20	Evan Mobley lost ball turnover (Derrick White steals)	22	3
7:12	Jayson Tatum makes 24-foot three point shot (Al Horford assists)	25	3
7:11	Cavaliers Full timeout	25	3
7:11	Ty Jerome enters the game for Donovan Mitchell	25	3
7:11	De'Andre Hunter enters the game for Evan Mobley	25	3
6:52	Darius Garland makes 3-foot two point shot	25	5
6:37	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	25	5
6:34	Ty Jerome defensive rebound	25	5
6:30	Sam Hauser personal foul	25	5
6:30	Luke Kornet enters the game for Al Horford	25	5
6:26	Darius Garland misses driving floating jump shot	25	5
6:23	Luke Kornet defensive rebound	25	5
6:12	Jaylen Brown misses 14-foot two point shot	25	5
6:10	Luke Kornet offensive rebound	25	5
6:08	Luke Kornet lost ball turnover (Ty Jerome steals)	25	5
6:03	Max Strus makes two point shot (Darius Garland assists)	25	7
5:53	Sam Hauser misses 23-foot three point jumper	25	7
5:51	Darius Garland defensive rebound	25	7
5:39	Ty Jerome misses two point shot	25	7
5:38	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	25	7
5:27	Derrick White misses 26-foot three point pullup jump shot	25	7
5:24	Sam Hauser offensive rebound	25	7
5:23	Sam Hauser misses 8-foot hook shot	25	7
5:21	De'Andre Hunter defensive rebound	25	7
5:10	Luke Kornet personal foul	25	7
5:10	Payton Pritchard enters the game for Jaylen Brown	25	7
5:10	Sam Merrill enters the game for Max Strus	25	7
5:03	Darius Garland makes 17-foot two point shot (Jarrett Allen assists)	25	9
4:44	Jarrett Allen shooting foul	25	9
4:44	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 1 of 2	26	9
4:44	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 2 of 2	27	9
4:32	Payton Pritchard shooting foul	27	9
4:32	De'Andre Hunter makes free throw 1 of 2	27	10
4:32	Drew Peterson enters the game for Derrick White	27	10
4:32	De'Andre Hunter misses free throw 2 of 2	27	10
4:30	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	27	10
4:16	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	27	10
4:15	Sam Merrill defensive rebound	27	10
4:06	Sam Merrill makes 26-foot three point jumper (Ty Jerome assists)	27	13
3:37	Jayson Tatum makes 17-foot step back jumpshot	29	13
3:27	Ty Jerome misses driving floating jump shot	29	13
3:26	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	29	13
3:19	Payton Pritchard misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	29	13
3:14	Sam Hauser offensive rebound	29	13
3:05	Jarrett Allen shooting foul	29	13
3:05	Jayson Tatum misses free throw 1 of 2	29	13
3:05	Celtics offensive team rebound	29	13
3:05	Jaylen Brown enters the game for Sam Hauser	29	13
3:05	Torrey Craig enters the game for Drew Peterson	29	13
3:05	Evan Mobley enters the game for Jarrett Allen	29	13
3:05	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 2 of 2	30	13
3:05	Donovan Mitchell enters the game for Darius Garland	30	13
2:57	Ty Jerome makes 31-foot three pointer	30	16
2:30	Jayson Tatum misses 9-foot two point shot	30	16
2:24	Evan Mobley defensive rebound	30	16
2:16	Donovan Mitchell makes 15-foot pullup jump shot	30	18
1:57	Jaylen Brown makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot	32	18
1:45	Ty Jerome makes 12-foot driving floating jump shot	32	20
1:32	Payton Pritchard offensive foul	32	20
1:32	Payton Pritchard turnover	32	20
1:20	Ty Jerome makes 26-foot three pointer	32	23
1:00	Jaylen Brown misses driving layup	32	23
59.1	Jaylen Brown offensive rebound	32	23
59.1	Sam Merrill shooting foul	32	23
59.1	Jaylen Brown makes free throw 1 of 2	33	23
59.1	Al Horford enters the game for Luke Kornet	33	23
59.1	Jaylen Brown misses free throw 2 of 2	33	23
57.1	De'Andre Hunter defensive rebound	33	23
44.1	Jayson Tatum blocks Ty Jerome 's 6-foot driving layup	33	23
44.1	Celtics defensive team rebound	33	23
44.1	Sam Hauser enters the game for Torrey Craig	33	23
36.1	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup	35	23
36.1	Evan Mobley shooting foul	35	23
36.1	Torrey Craig enters the game for Sam Hauser	35	23
36.1	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 1 of 1	36	23
24.0	De'Andre Hunter makes 23-foot three point jumper (Donovan Mitchell assists)	36	26
1.2	Jayson Tatum makes 11-foot two point shot	38	26
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	38	26

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

TD Garden

Boston, MA

Date & Time

12:30 AM, March 1, 2025

Coverage

ESPN, NBC Sports BO, FanDuel SN OH

Attendance

19,156

Referees

Tre Maddox, Ben Taylor, 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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Mitchell scores 41, Cavaliers overcome 22-point deficit to beat the Celtics 123-116

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