Game ID: 22400021
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics
Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 26 39 28 27 120CLE 20 28 40 29 117
BOS vs CLE ScoutingBOS vs CLE Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Brown missed 4 since 11/02, returns tonight: 37 min (108% of 35)
OUT Scheierman missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
NEW Queta 13 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT Scheierman missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Brown back 11/10 after 4, 37 min since (108% of 35)
NEW Queta 13 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/13 · back-to-backOUT Scheierman missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Brown back 11/10 after 4, 37 min since (106% of 35)
NEW Queta 13 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/16 · 2 days' restOUT Scheierman missed 5 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Brown back 11/10 after 4, 36 min since (105% of 35)
NEW Queta 13 to 24 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/19 · 2 days' restOUT Scheierman missed 6 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Brown back 11/10 after 4, 38 min since (110% of 35)
NEW Queta 13 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/22 · 2 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Scheierman missed 7 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Brown back 11/10 after 4, 38 min since (110% of 35)
NEW Queta 13 to 22 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/24 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Scheierman missed 8 since 11/06, out tonight
NEW Queta 13 to 22 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 11/25 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 11/16, returns tonight: 23 min (83% of 27)
OUT Scheierman missed 9 since 11/06, returns tonight: 5 min (43% of 12)
NEW Queta 13 to 22 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 11/29 · 3 days' restOUT Kornet missed 2 since 11/24, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 11/25 after 4, 23 min since (83% of 27)
BACK Scheierman back 11/25 after 9, 5 min since (43% of 12)
NEW Queta 13 to 23 min over the last 4
CLE availability going into 11/11 · 1 day's restBACK LeVert back 11/06 after 2, 27 min since (113% of 24)
BACK Wade back 11/08 after 2, 18 min since (88% of 20)
NEW Okoro 18 to 24 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 11/13 · 1 day's restBACK LeVert back 11/06 after 2, 26 min since (110% of 24)
BACK Wade back 11/08 after 2, 18 min since (89% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/15 · 1 day's restBACK LeVert back 11/06 after 2, 26 min since (109% of 24)
BACK Wade back 11/08 after 2, 19 min since (91% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/17 · 1 day's restOUT Merrill missed 2 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Wade back 11/08 after 2, 21 min since (101% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Merrill missed 3 since 11/13, returns tonight: 19 min (96% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/20 · back-to-backBACK Merrill back 11/19 after 3, 19 min since (96% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/24 · 3 days' restOUT LeVert missed 2 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 2 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Okoro missed 2 since 11/19, returns tonight: 29 min (155% of 18)
BACK Merrill back 11/19 after 3, 19 min since (96% of 20)
CLE availability going into 11/27 · 2 days' restOUT LeVert missed 3 since 11/19, out tonight
OUT Wade missed 3 since 11/19, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/19 after 3, 19 min since (98% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 11/24 after 2, 29 min since (155% of 18)
NEW Jerome 20 to 26 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 11/29 · 1 day's restOUT LeVert missed 4 since 11/19, returns tonight: 20 min (85% of 24)
OUT Wade missed 4 since 11/19, out tonight
BACK Merrill back 11/19 after 3, 19 min since (94% of 20)
BACK Okoro back 11/24 after 2, 26 min since (139% of 18)
NEW Jerome 20 to 27 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Brown at 26 a game. 2 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 112, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 30 and Garland at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Merrill (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Boston 118, Cleveland 116, Cleveland keeping it close.
11/10 @ MIL 113-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 113-107. BOS shot 41% (35 of 86) to MIL's 48%, 19 of 50 from three, and went to the line 27 times to MIL's 21 — 24 points from the stripe to their 16. Tatum led with 31 (7 of 21, 4 of 12 from three, 13 of 15 at the line); Pritchard added 18, White 15. The hinge was Q3, 29-15: BOS came in trailing by 11 and left it ahead by 3. BOS trailed 58-69 at the half and won the second half 55-38. Holiday was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
11/12 vs ATL 116-117 — BOS notes
BOS lost 116-117. BOS shot 51% (38 of 75) to ATL's 51%, 18 of 45 from three, and went to the line 27 times to ATL's 13 — 22 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 34-44 against them. Brown led with 37 (14 of 22, 3 of 6 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); White added 31, Tatum 20. Q2 was theirs, 34-25, but the other 3 periods went 92-82 against them. They led by as many as 15.
11/13 @ BKN 139-114 — BOS notes
BOS won 139-114. BOS shot 54% (50 of 93) to BKN's 51%, 22 of 46 from three, and went to the line 24 times to BKN's 18 — 17 points from the stripe to their 15. BOS turned it over 7 times to BKN's 12. The glass went 45-34 for them. Tatum led with 36 (12 of 19, 5 of 6 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Brown added 24, Pritchard 23. The hinge was Q4, 36-25: a lead of 14 became 25, and the lead reached 30. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
11/16 vs TOR 126-123 — BOS notes
BOS won 126-123 in 1 overtime. BOS shot 44% (44 of 99) to TOR's 51%, 21 of 61 from three. Brown led with 27 (8 of 16, 2 of 7 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); Tatum added 24, White 18. The hinge was OT1, 12-9: from level to 3 ahead. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
11/19 vs CLE 120-117 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-117. BOS shot 51% (44 of 86) to CLE's 49%, 22 of 41 from three. BOS turned it over 13 times to CLE's 7. Tatum led with 33 (11 of 22, 6 of 10 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Horford added 20, White 19. The hinge was Q2, 39-28: a lead of 6 became 17, and the lead reached 21. Horford was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
11/22 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 127, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 17 free throws a game; Poole at 21 and Kuzma at 17 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. Without Champagnie (3 straight), Holmes (6 straight). 3 days' rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 42 from three, 22 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Brown at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 116 a night to Washington's 127 and the glass, where Boston has been minus-0 a night and Washington minus-7. Call it Boston 123, Washington 113, Boston by 10.
11/24 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 27 and Tatum at 26 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (3 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 116, shooting 46 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Randle at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 7 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been minus-1 a night and Minnesota minus-7 and the arc, Boston at 39 percent from three to Minnesota's 35. Call it Boston 119, Minnesota 111.
11/25 vs LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Brown at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Porziņģis (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. The Clippers come in 5-0 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 97, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Harden at 20 and Zubac at 15 a game. That is 5 straight wins. They have won the glass by 8 a night. Without Powell (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, the Clippers allowing 97 a night to Boston's 111 and the glass, where the Clippers have been plus-8 a night and Boston minus-1. Call it Boston 112, the Clippers 109, the Clippers keeping it close.
11/29 @ CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 125, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; LaVine at 22 and Vučević at 19 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Williams (5 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 24 and Tatum at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Kornet (2 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 107 a night to Chicago's 125 and the turnovers, Chicago giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 10. Call it Boston 120, Chicago 116, Chicago keeping it close.
11/11 @ CHI 119-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 119-113. CLE shot 44% (43 of 97) to CHI's 49%, 15 of 45 from three, and went to the line 24 times to CHI's 16 — 18 points from the stripe to their 13. CLE turned it over 8 times to CHI's 20. Mitchell led with 36 (12 of 26, 7 of 16 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Garland added 17, Mobley 15. The hinge was Q4, 24-21: a lead of 3 became 6. Jerome was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/13 @ PHI 114-106 — CLE notes
CLE won 114-106. CLE shot 49% (42 of 85) to PHI's 45%, 16 of 40 from three, and went to the line 17 times to PHI's 11 — 14 points from the stripe to their 10. Garland led with 25 (10 of 16, 1 of 4 from three); Mitchell added 23, Mobley 14. The hinge was Q3, 34-24: CLE came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 4. CLE trailed 48-54 at the half and won the second half 66-52. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
11/15 vs CHI 144-126 — CLE notes
CLE won 144-126. CLE shot 55% (51 of 93) to CHI's 51%, 21 of 43 from three. Mitchell led with 37 (12 of 23, 7 of 13 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Garland added 29, Allen 24. The hinge was Q1, 49-34: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 19. Wade was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
11/17 vs CHA 128-114 — CLE notes
CLE won 128-114. CLE shot 57% (44 of 77) to CHA's 41%, 13 of 30 from three, and went to the line 28 times to CHA's 12 — 27 points from the stripe to their 10. CLE turned it over 20 times to CHA's 9, and CHA turned those into 12 steals. Garland led with 25 (7 of 16, 2 of 5 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Jerome added 24, Mobley 23. The hinge was Q4, 26-15: a lead of 3 became 14. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
11/19 @ BOS 117-120 — CLE notes
CLE lost 117-120. CLE shot 49% (46 of 93) to BOS's 51%, 10 of 29 from three. CLE turned it over 7 times to BOS's 13. Mitchell led with 35 (13 of 29, 3 of 11 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Mobley added 22, Porter Jr. 15. Q3 was theirs, 40-28, the deficit cut from 17 to 5, but the other 3 periods went 92-77 against them. Allen's -16 in 28 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/20 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 22 free throws a game; Mitchell at 33 and Garland at 21 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 97 a night and allowing 109, shooting 42 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ingram at 24 and Murphy III at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without McCollum (11 straight), Murray (14 straight), Jones (11 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 40 percent from three to New Orleans's 32 and the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland plus-1. Call it Cleveland 119, New Orleans 106, Cleveland by 13.
11/24 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 26 and Garland at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without LeVert (2 straight), Wade (2 straight), Okoro (2 straight). 3 days' rest. Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 110, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Barrett at 25 and Poeltl at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Quickley (5 straight), Walter (7 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 42 percent from three to Toronto's 36 and the turnovers, Toronto giving it away 17 times a game to Cleveland's 12. Call it Cleveland 121, Toronto 110, Cleveland by 11.
11/27 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 114, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 19 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Garland at 20 a game. Without LeVert (3 straight), Wade (3 straight). 2 days' rest. Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 121, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 23 and Young at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Nance Jr. (4 straight), Wallace (4 straight), Gueye (10 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 42 percent from three to Atlanta's 32 and the defense, Cleveland allowing 114 a night to Atlanta's 121. Call it Cleveland 125, Atlanta 111, Cleveland by 14.
11/29 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 123, shooting 44 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 22 and Hunter at 17 a game. Without Krejčí (2 straight), Nance Jr. (5 straight), Mathews (2 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Mitchell at 25 and Jerome at 19 a game. Without LeVert (4 straight), Wade (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Cleveland allowing 115 a night to Atlanta's 123. Call it Cleveland 122, Atlanta 116.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLECP C. Porter Jr.
DG D. Garland
DM D. Mitchell
EM E. Mobley
GN G. Niang
JA J. Allen
SM S. Merrill
TJ T. Jerome
BOSAH A. Horford
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
CLE/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Celtics hand Cavaliers first loss of season, winning 120-117 to end Cleveland's 15-game win streak
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.