When the clubs meet Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will look to hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season.
Boston advanced to 10-0 at home on Friday, defeating the New York Knicks 133-123. Kristaps Porzingis of the Boston Celtics scored 21 points in 29 minutes after returning to the court after missing four games due to a calf issue. He converted his first seven field-goal attempts and stated that he felt no pain during the game.
“It felt good to be back out there,” said Porzingis. “I was itching to get back out there with my guys and excited about beating a good team like the Knicks.”
“My teammates kept running into me wide open. Pick-and-pops had some fantastic looks early in the game. It felt fantastic.”
Against New York, all five Boston starters scored at least 16 points. Derrick White scored a season-high 30 points, and Jayson Tatum added 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Jaylen Brown scored 17 points before being dismissed in the fourth quarter for his second technical foul.
“(Porzingis) just adds another huge threat to our offense,” he added. “Just him being 7-foot-3, setting screens, hitting threes, and being able to shoot the ball forces teams to make decisions, which opens up my game, which opens up White’s game, which opens up everyone’s game.” So KP’s presence on the floor, his very presence, is a menace.”
The Cavaliers’ three-game winning streak came to an end on Monday with a 104-94 setback in Orlando. Cleveland’s road record now stands at 7-4.
Cleveland led 29-22 after one quarter and 54-51 at halftime, but missed 15 of 17 field goals in the third quarter, when it was outscored 30-15. This season, the Cavaliers are 0-8 when trailing after three quarters.
In the loss, Cleveland point guard Darius Garland scored a season-high 36 points. He made 11 of his 12 free throw tries and went 11 of 23 from the field. Donovan Mitchell had 22 points and three steals, but he shot 6 of 18 from the field, including 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.
The Cavaliers shot 35.3 percent overall and 22.5 percent from outside the arc.
“It was hard out there,” Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the game. “There were a lot of whistles but not much rhythm.” Because there were so many free throws, the game became choppy. I think they were two solid teams competing, and they got the better of us.”
Cleveland is 13-4 when opponents score less than 120 points and 0-6 when opponents score more than 120 points.
The Cavaliers were missing center Evan Mobley and guard Carmelo Anthony on Monday due to knee injuries. Mobley missed his second straight game, and LeVert hasn’t played since Nov. 30.
This season, Mobley is averaging 16 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field. LeVert is averaging 14.9 points per game.