CLEVELAND -- Guard Marcus Smart scored 19 points, forward Evan Turner passed for a career-high 13 assists and the Boston Celtics maintained their hold on the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a 99-90 victory Friday night over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers, ending the Cavs' 18-game home winning streak.

The Cavaliers played without guards Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, who were resting injuries. Irving sat with a right hip that was bothering him at the morning shootaround and Shumpert rested a bruised thigh.

The Cavs officially called Shumpert's injury a right quad contusion, but neither his injury nor Irving's are considered serious.

The Cavs have nothing left to gain during the regular season, having already won the Central Division and clinched the second seed in the East. As a result, coach David Blatt rested his starters in the fourth quarter, allowing the Celtics to escape after they blew a 16-point lead in the third quarter.

Cleveland looked lethargic and disinterested at the start, allowing the Celtics to race to a 16-4 lead. Boston maintained a 54-40 lead at the break and pushed the lead to 16 early in the third quarter before the Cavs came roaring back.

Forward LeBron James made a concerted effort to quicken the pace in the third quarter in an effort to inject some life into a lethargic team. Little-used Mike Miller helped him by scoring 11 of the Cavs' 37 points in the quarter and Cleveland tightened defensively.

The Cavs scored 12 consecutive points in the third quarter and 15 of 17. Miller's 3-pointer and ensuing free throws on the following possession gave Cleveland its only lead of the game at 70-69 with 2:54 left in the quarter.

Forward Kevin Love had 19 points and six rebounds -- including 4-of-8 shooting on 3-pointers -- James had 14 points and seven assists and center Tristan Thompson grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cavs. Center Timofey Mozgov added 13 points.

Guard Isaiah Thomas had 17 points off the bench, guard Avery Bradley scored 15 points and former Cavs center Tyler Zeller had 13 points and six rebounds for the Celtics, who remain tied at the bottom of the playoff bracket with the Brooklyn Nets. The Celtics, however, hold the tiebreaker.

James said he never considered taking the game off, although he made no promises about games moving forward. He is expected to rest at some point before the close of the regular season, perhaps Sunday in the rematch between the two teams in Boston.

NOTES: Celtics G Marcus Smart is three assists shy from becoming the seventh player in Celtics history to end his rookie season with at least 500 points, 200 rebounds and 200 assists. The others are Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, Rajon Rondo, Brian Shaw and Antoine Walker. ... The Celtics are tied for the third-fewest turnovers in the league since the All-Star break. ... Cavaliers G Iman Shumpert missed Friday's game with a bruised thigh. He suffered the injury in Wednesday's win at the Milwaukee Bucks, although Cleveland doesn't consider it to be serious. ... F LeBron James admired 19-year-old Lauren Hill's battle with brain cancer from afar and was disappointed he never got the chance to meet her before she died Friday morning. "You never want anyone's life to be taken away because of an illness," he said. "Every day struggles she had to deal with throughout her treatment and throughout her care, she's in a better place now. The man above doesn't make any mistakes."