The Cavaliers’ winning streak at the beginning of this year finally ended on Tuesday night as last year’s NBA champions came to the top in an NBA Cup fixture.
Boston finishes Cleveland’s undefeated start
Cleveland was unable to move past 15-0 this season, becoming the third team in history to win their first 15 NBA games before losing in 16th place. The 2016 Warrior remains the only side in NBA history to win over 15 games to start the season with 24.
Boston proved why they are NBA champions this week as the Cavaliers were unable to make a comeback with a 3-point loss from last year’s playoffs.
Never on Tuesday, the Celtics looked to slow down, and they left 22 3-pointers in Cleveland throughout the contest, keeping their unbeaten team arm-length all night.
Jason Tatum scored 33 points for the champion, shooting 6/10 from 3 and 12 rebounds with another eye-catching performance.
Jason Tatum:
– 1st in points
– 1st place in the 30-point game
– 1st in 5 or more 3 or more games
– PPG, RPG, APG major CelticsHe lost 12/7/33 with the best team in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/iva1oj4hx4
– statmuse (@statmuse) November 20, 2024
“I was excited today… (Cavs) were the best team in the league, 15-0,” Tatum Post Game said. “They came in and they felt they were the best team and we feel we were the best team. It’s all in competition so we were ready to play today.”
The Celtics were leading up to 21 points on Tuesday, but the Cavaliers fought against the resilience and went down the home stretch, mostly in one-owned game. But Boston always looked at the controls and won easily despite Cleveland’s comeback.
Tuesday’s match was not a regular season match at TD Garden. Boston was able to quickly return to the NBA Cup after avoiding a back-to-back defeat.
good morning. pic.twitter.com/peyfxqwxrq
– Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 20, 2024
With the Hawks getting 2-0 after the first two games, it appears Boston and Cleveland will have to compete for the best second-place finisher in East Group C, determined by the point differential.
Boston will face Washington on Friday night in the next cup game, but if this year’s team makes Las Vegas this year, the Cavs will need to win both games with the Hawks next week.