Jayson Tatum scores 22, Celtics holds Cavaliers 112-105 in Matchup by Eastern Conference’s Best

Cleveland-Jayson Tatum scored 22 points, Derrick White added 20, and Boston Celtics showed their championship makeup down the stretch with a 112-105 victory over Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night in a matchup of the eastern conference’s top team.

The defending NBA titlists executed in the final minute and held Cavs, which lost for only the fourth time in 28 home matches.

Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and Jaylen Brown 16 with nine rebounds as Boston won his fourth straight and improved to 2-1 against Cleveland this season.

Donovan Mitchell scored 31 points and Darius Garland 25 for Cavs, cutting a 15-point deficit to four in the fourth quarter.

But Celtics, who has won four equal, did not excite and responded at any crucial moment to remove Cavs.

Jarrett Allen had 17 points and 18 rebounds for Cleveland.

Takeaways
Celtics: Porzingis’ presence makes Boston so much harder to defend. The big man of 7 feet-3 was wounded and missed last year’s playoff series against Cleveland. Cavs was constantly caught by making bad switches while trying to protect porzingis.

Cavaliers: All-Star Evan Mobley had a tough night. He ended with only 7 points on 3 out of 14 shoots and could not have a significant influence at each end. Mobley recently returned from a calf injury and doesn’t seem to have his explanation back.

Key moment
After Cavs pulled within four late in the fourth, White hit a short jumper followed by back-to-back 3-pointers to give Boston a 107-97 lead with 2:41 back.

Key State
Cleveland started only 1 out of 14 on 3-Pointers and finished 11 of 39 (28%) behind the arch. They have made at least 10 3s in 55 straight matches.

Up next
On Thursday, Celtics hosts Dallas, who just acquired Anthony Davis from Lakers in a superstar swap for Luka Doncic. Cavaliers are in Detroit Wednesday.

——

AP NBA: