Although the Cleveland Cavaliers’ perfect start is over, they did enough to show the Boston Celtics they will be a contender this year.
The defending champion Celtics rode a hot start to see off the Cavaliers 120-117 in their highly anticipated clash on Tuesday night, Jayson Tatum pouring in 33 points and pulling in 12 rebounds for the home team.
It means the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors’ record of winning their first 24 games of a season remains intact with the Cavs now standing at 15-1.
🏆 TUESDAY’S #EmiratesNBACup FINAL SCORES 🏆
Jayson Tatum and the @celtics knock down 22 threes as they move to 12-3 and 1-1 in East Group C play!
Al Horford: 20 PTS, 4 3PM, 7 REB, 3 BLK
Derrick White: 19 PTS, 4 3PM, 6 REB, 5 AST
Jaylen Brown: 17 PTS, 8 AST pic.twitter.com/BqZ7b7FA0U— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
But coach Kenny Atkinson will take away plenty of positives, particularly how his side fought back in the second half after dominating in the paint.
That was a feeling shared by Donovan Mitchell, who enjoyed a physical battle with Tatum and Jaylen Brown on his way to scoring 35 points in 40 minutes.
📰 Table Of Contents
Mitchell pleased despite defeat
Asked what the Cavs would take from the game, Mitchell said: “Just that it’s the group I thought we were.
“It’s just a test. This is a big test. Whether you win, lose or draw, it’s just a test; and obviously you want to learn through wins, but we lost tonight. But there’s a lot we can take away from the good in the second half and a lot we can learn from the first half to get better at.”
Mitchell was backed up by Evan Mobley, who used his size to great effect to finish with 22 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
“He set the tone for us,” added Mitchell. “But when he’s in there and being able to create, dominate the way he did, that’s what he does. And it’s continuing to be aggressive, and that’s just part of the process, continuing to get better and better.
“We saw this against [Boston] in the series last year. He’s continuing just to grow and get better, and that’s who he is.”
NBA STANDINGS UPDATE ‼️
▪️ LAL win 6th in a row
▪️ DAL win 3rd in a row
▪️ BOS move to 12-3Download the NBA App for more: https://t.co/wV1YsrFUXw pic.twitter.com/SH1foxjyQl
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
Mobley – it was a good test
The Celtics led 65-48 at half-time but a 40-point blast from Cleveland in the third quarter set up an exciting finish.
“I’m happy how we fought back,” said Mobley.
“That was the main thing that I can be happy about. I feel like we didn’t start the best. That was the main thing that really shot us in our foot. But overall, I feel like we played a pretty good game.
“I think it was a good test, and from what I saw out there, we could beat anybody.”
