Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla kept his rotation tight despite the absences of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to injury.

For the first few moments of the game, it looked like the Boston Celtics were going to easily defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. But that didn’t end up being the case and the Cavaliers stormed back and secured a strong 123-116 win over the reigning champions.

Oldfield's pick: Evan Mobley has been playing his best basketball of the season this month and is poised to go Over his conservative point against the Celtics tonight.

Evan Mobley a favorite for Defensive Player of the Year Award after Victor Wembanyama injury The Cavs largely ran back the same roster from last year after falling to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs. The belief was that with some ...

Boston started red-hot from deep but struggled when the Cavaliers adjusted, using a mix of zone defense and small-ball lineups. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown carried the load, but Cleveland’s depth and in-game tweaks made the difference late.

Eighty-three points from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown weren’t enough to push the Celtics past the first-place Cavs in a 123-116 loss at TD Garden.