Summary
It was finally necessary to put the second best team in the NBA on the road to the Cleveland Cavaliers to end their invincibility.
The Boston Celtics (12-3) got the better of the Cavaliers (15-1) by a score of 120-117 on Tuesday night to end the Cavaliers’ impressive 15-game winning streak to start the season.
The victory also allows the Celtics to join the Cavaliers in second place in Group C in the NBA Cup East, with a 1-1 record. The Atlanta Hawks are in first place with a perfect record of two wins in as many games.
Jayson Tatum was mainly responsible for the Cavaliers’ misfortune with his haul of 33 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Derrick White added 19 points, while Al Horford scored 20 points. Jaylen Brown chipped in with 17 points.
Donovan Mitchell did well in the loss with 35 points, while Evan Mobley had 22 points.
The Cavaliers only had the lead twice in the game, by one and two points during the first four minutes of the first quarter. Otherwise, the Celtics have always been in the driver’s seat.
Boston quickly showed its colors in the first quarter by building a 20-8 lead.
Then after seeing the Cavs pick up the score, Boston went on a brilliant 13-3 run in the second quarter to increase its lead and lead 65-48 midway through the game.
Cleveland had an excellent end to the third quarter and the team took advantage of a few baskets from Mitchell, Mobley and Jarrett Allen to reduce the gap to three points with 12 minutes to play.
To the great dismay of the Cavaliers, however, the Celtics widened the gap each time Cleveland got dangerously close to the score.
A shot from downtown by Payton Pritchard with 5:29 left in the fourth quarter increased Boston’s lead to seven points. Cleveland tried as best it could to approach the Celtics again afterward, but the latter held on to win.
The Cavaliers became the fourth team in NBA history to start a season with 15 straight victories.
It was the longest winning streak in Cavaliers history.
Westbrook in history
Russell Westbrook had already made history by being the player with the most triples in the NBA, but he added an important detail to that page Tuesday night.
The 17-year NBA veteran became the first player to reach 200 triples in league history. On Tuesday, he had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a 122-110 win for the Denver Nuggets over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Westbrook is alone at the top in history with 200 triples, ahead of Oscar Robertson’s 181 triples and Magic Johnson’s 138.
His Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic ranks fourth in NBA history with 136 triples. Jokic also missed a third match in a row for personal reasons.
Westbrook scored 138 of his triples in the uniform of the Oklahoma City Thunder, with whom he played between 2008 and 2019. It was a first hat-trick this season for Westbrook.
Jamal Murray chipped in with 27 points, while Michael Porter Jr. scored twice with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Santi Aldama was the most productive for the Grizzlies with 28 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 19 points in the loss.
Elsewhere in the NBA
IS GROUP A
Hornets 115 – Nets 116
CHA : Brandon Miller scored 29 points and Miles Bridges added 21 points.
BRK : Cameron Johnson had a 34-point night while Dennis Schroder finished the game with a double of 14 points and 12 assists.
WEST GROUP B
Thunder 104 – Spurs 110
OKC : Shai GIlgeous-Alexander had 32 points, Jalen Williams 27.
on : In the absence of Victor Wembanyama, the players raised their game, including Keldon Johnson who provided 22 points off the bench.
Jazz 118 – Lakers 124
UTA : Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton had 25 and 19 points respectively.
LAL : Dalton Knecht scored 21 points in the 3rd quarter, for a total of 37.
WEST GROUP C
Pelicans 91 – Mavericks 132
NO : Trey Murphy III was the most productive on his team with 19 points.
DAL : Luka Doncic had 26 points and Klay Thompson had 19 points.
