BOSTON — Jayson Tatum scored 27 points, Jaylen Brown had 22 and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-107 on Thursday night to improve to 12-0 at home.
Facing the Cavaliers for the second consecutive game at TD Garden after a victory on Tuesday, Boston won for the sixth time in seven games overall.
Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 and Derrick White 14 for the Celtics, who have the best record in the Eastern Conference. Tatum added 11 rebounds, and all five starters scored in double figures.
“I think we were locked in, attention to detail,” Holiday said. “This game we kind of controlled the game from beginning to end, withstood their punches and were able to make plays down the stretch.”
Donovan Mitchell paced Cleveland with 31 points, Caris LeVert finished with 26 and Darius Garland had 19. The Cavaliers have lost three straight.
After having their double-digit lead sliced to three entering the final quarter, the Celtics took control again. Tatum sparked a quick spurt with a fadeaway and a step-back 3-pointer, pushing Boston’s lead to 101-91 with 8 1/2 minutes to go.
Cleveland had one more run left, slicing it to 107-102 on LeVert’s driving basket with 3:01 to play, but Holiday hit a layup and Tatum followed Cleveland’s turnover with a dunk with 1:53 to play.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) looks for a opening past Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, left, as Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Boston. Credit: AP/Steven Senne
“I thought we could have played a lot better, to be honest,” Brown said. “I thought we played a little lethargically and allowed them to keep the game kind of close. That’s kind of dangerous against certain teams; they’re in striking distance and can get hot at any moment. We’ve got to do a better job of putting teams away.”
Trailing by double digits most of the third quarter and looking…
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