National Basketball Association
Boston 120, Cleveland 113
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #54 Ray Acosta, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #32 Marat Kogut
Attendance: 19156

The Boston Celtics went 26-for-26 from the free-throw line and improved their home record to 11-0 this season by beating the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 120-113 on Tuesday night.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored a team-high 25 points for the Celtics, and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 21. Tatum and Porzingis each had a game-high 10 rebounds. Derrick White made 5 of 8 3-point attempts and added 17 points.

The game was tied 106-106 with 6:05 to play, but Boston scored the next nine points, and the Cavaliers were never closer than seven the rest of the way. The Celtics have won 18 consecutive regular-season home games dating back to March.

Cleveland received a game-high 29 points from Donovan Mitchell, and 26 from Darius Garland.

Caris LeVert returned to Cleveland's lineup after missing the past four games with a knee injury and tossed in 11 points in 23 minutes, but the Cavaliers were without forward Evan Mobley (knee) for the third straight game. Mobley is averaging 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season. He is shooting 57.3 percent from the field.

An 11-0 run gave Cleveland an 18-4 advantage with 7:34 remaining in the first quarter. A Mitchell 3-pointer extended the lead to 25-10 with 5:15 left in the first, and the Cavaliers led 31-21 after 12 minutes.

The Celtics tied the game at 52-52 on two Brown free throws with 3:52 left in the first half before taking their first lead on a Brown layup with 1:39 remaining. A Garland 3-pointer capped the first-half scoring and handed the Cavaliers a 60-59 halftime lead.

The Celtics had a 17-2 advantage in makes at the free-throw line in the first half.

A 13-2 run gave Cleveland a 74-68 edge with 7:30 left in the third quarter, but Boston regained the lead when a Jrue Holiday trey capped a 9-0 spurt that put the Celtics in front 83-82 with 3:53 left in the quarter. Boston had a 94-92 lead entering the fourth.

The Cavaliers lost despite making 19 of their 45 3-point attempts (42.2 percent).

The teams will meet again on Thursday in Boston.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Cleveland   Boston
Donovan Mitchell 29 Scoring Jaylen Brown 25
Darius Garland 7 Assists Jayson Tatum 5
Max Strus 9 Rebounds Kristaps Porzingis 10
Jarrett Allen 2 Free Throws Made Kristaps Porzingis 9
Jarrett Allen 3 Steals Jrue Holiday 3
Jarrett Allen 2 Blocks Kristaps Porzingis 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Cleveland 113 47.8 19-45 6-9 27 35 4 6 13
Boston 120 45.2 18-44 26-26 23 45 9 9 15
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Cleveland. The Celtics have a W/L % of .765 after a win and .800 after a loss.
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .636 after a loss.