Tuesday’s thrilling win over the Cavaliers kept the Celtics in contention for the 2024 NBA Cup.

The 120-117 victory at TD Garden improved Boston’s record to 1-1 in NBA Cup group play. It sits second in the Eastern Conference’s Group C, behind 2-0 Atlanta and ahead of 1-1 Cleveland thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker. Washington and Chicago round out the group at 0-1.

The three group winners and top second-place finisher from each conference qualify for the win-or-go-home quarterfinals.

“Even though it’s a November game, this was an NBA Cup game,” Celtics big man Al Horford said. “We squandered one away last week against Atlanta, and (we wanted to) find a way to get this win and try to stay relevant in that. It was important. I think it’s a good thing that this early in the season, you’re playing meaningful games like that.”

How can the Celtics advance? The simplest path would be to win their two remaining Cup games (at Washington this Friday; at Chicago next Friday) and have the Hawks, who opened Cup play with a 117-116 win in Boston, lose both one of theirs (at Chicago; vs. Cleveland). In that scenario, the Celtics would finish atop Group C and guarantee themselves a spot in the knockouts.

If Atlanta wins one or both of its remaining games, then Boston would need to worry about point differential, which is the second tiebreaker behind head-to-head. The Celtics currently are at plus-2 in NBA Cup play, with the Hawks at plus-13 and the Cavs at plus-15.

The Celtics will have prime opportunities to pad that number over their final two contests, as they’ll be heavily favored over both the Wizards (overall record: 2-11) and Bulls (6-9). It would behoove them to win those games by as many points as possible, even if it means keeping their foot on the gas late in a blowout. Boston already routed Washington by 20 in a non-Cup game back on Oct. 24.

In last year’s In-Season Tournament (as the NBA Cup was known at the time), the Celtics needed to beat the Bulls by more than 22 points in their final group game to break a three-way tie with Orlando and Brooklyn. Head coach Joe Mazzulla reinserted his starters in the fourth quarter and repeatedly fouled poor free-throw shooter Andre Drummond, and Boston won by 27.

“I apologized to Andre Drummond for doing that,” Mazzulla said at the time, “but it gave us the best chance considering the circumstances we were in.”

Both wild-card teams that advanced to the quarterfinals last season had 3-1 records in group play and point differentials of plus-34 or higher.

Losing to either Washington or Chicago likely would eliminate the Celtics from NBA Cup contention. Players on all teams that reach the knockout rounds receive escalating bonuses: $50,000 for the losing quarterfinalists, $100,000 for the losing semifinalists, $200,000 for the runners-up and $500,000 for the NBA Cup champions.

Originally Published: November 20, 2024 at 10:38 AM EST

BOSTON — Everyone knew the deal. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered Tuesday’s game against the reigning champions with a 15-0 record, second-best start to a season ever, and it was an NBA Cup game to boot.

“We knew,” said Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. “Everybody knew.”

In front of a national television audience, the Celtics reminded the Cavaliers that the Eastern Conference still runs through Boston. They made five of their first eight 3-point attempts, took an 18-8 advantage midway through the opening quarter and never trailed again in a 120-117 victory Cleveland never quit.

Boston pushed its lead to 65-48 by halftime, making nine more 3-pointers on 11 attempts in the second quarter. We could call it a barrage if it were not so expected. This is what the Celtics do. Their 51.1 3-point attempts lead the league by almost six per game. Even at a middling conversion rate, they sink nearly 20 triples a night. Make it 22 on Tuesday. Better keep up if you ever want that math to work in your favor.

The Cavs could not. They shot 10-for-29 from deep and climbed uphill all night as a result. This was a deviation from their norm. They have been playing faster and with more freedom under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, who learned in his time with the Golden State Warriors that the ball should never stick.

Except it did against Boston. “Not great,” Atkinson said of his team’s preparedness.

“The first thing we learned was the force and physicality,” he added. “They had playoff force and physicality; we had regular-season force and physicality. And that’s why we were down 17 at the half.”

They responded in the second half, trimming a 21-point deficit to 86-84 over seven minutes of the third quarter. Some of it was the Celtics settling for contested 3s, rather than creating open ones. Most of it was the Cavaliers pounding the paint. Whether it was Donovan Mitchell taking Neemias Queta off the dribble or Cleveland’s bigs posting smaller defenders, the Cavs outscored Boston on the interior 60-36.

Credit to Cleveland for not conceding the undefeated record, but the Celtics answered that call, too.

“It’s simple: We just locked in on defense,” said Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. “We’ve been in that situation a million times where it’s time to win.”

So they did, which could be interpreted as a bad sign for the Cavaliers, who considered this game a measuring stick of their seriousness as a contender. But Evan Mobley drew a different conclusion.

“From what I saw out there, we could beat anybody,” said Cleveland’s rising star.

Is that feeling different from last year, when Boston ousted Cleveland in a second-round playoff series?

“Not really, honestly,” added Mobley (22 points, 11 rebounds). “Last year it felt the same way. We were right there. We lost the series, but most of the games we were right there with them the whole time.”

Can beat the Celtics and will beat the Celtics are two different things. For as much positivity as the Cavaliers drew from their first loss of the season, there is this: Boston will soon reincorporate All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis, who unlocks another dimension for a team that won a title largely without him.

The Celtics assigned Porzingis to their G League affiliate Monday. Instead of sending him to Maine, they brought the entire developmental team to Porzingis, so he could simulate serious game action for the first time since his surgery, sources told Yahoo Sports. Attendees were pleased with his performance, which is a) to be expected from anyone relaying that information and b) better than the alternative.

Either way, Porzingis’ return is now a matter of weeks, not months, even if he may not be available when these two teams meet again Dec. 1. That is the next measuring stick. This one fell short for the Cavs, who look different from last season yet still a tier below the fully healthy version of the reigning champs.

Kristaps Porzingis began what the Celtics called the “next phase of his recovery” on Monday, joining Boston’s G League affiliate for a practice at the Auerbach Center.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said the rehabbing big man suffered no setbacks during that session.

“I only watched a little of it, but he came out of it OK,” Mazzulla said before Tuesday’s NBA Cup matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. “So he’ll just continue to ramp it up and get better and better.”

Porzingis underwent offseason surgery to repair the rare leg injury he suffered during the NBA Finals. He has not played since, but he has been around the team and, by all accounts, is making steady progress.

Mazzulla didn’t explain exactly what this “next phase” for Porzingis entails (“I have no idea. It’s a medical phase”) but said he’s been pleased with the work the 7-foot-2 center is putting in.

“All I know is he’s getting better every day, and he’s working really hard at coming back as fast as he can,” Mazzulla said. “And he’s in the next phase of the ramp-up.”

Porzingis was the only Celtics player unavailable for Tuesday’s game. Sixth man Payton Pritchard was listed as questionable Monday with a sprained left thumb but was upgraded to available before the game.

Tillman Maine man

Joining Porzingis for his brief G League rehab assignment was forward Xavier Tillman. Some players might balk at a request to practice with the farm club, but Mazzulla said Tillman, who has fallen out of Boston’s rotation of late, embraced the opportunity.

“He just wanted to play,” Mazzulla said. “It was an opportunity to play, and he’s obviously done a great job of just doing what we’ve asked him to do. So it’s a credit to him. We’ve got a lot of respect for him for making that decision. He’s got to keep getting better and better. He’s brought great character, a great work ethic to it.”

Acquired from Memphis ahead of last season’s trade deadline, Tillman logged substantial minutes over Boston’s first four games but has hardly seen the floor over the past three weeks. Entering Tuesday, the 25-year-old had played just 19 total minutes over the last nine games – despite starting one of those – with four healthy DNPs during that span.

The bulk of Tillman’s minutes have gone to center Neemias Queta, who’s emerged as a steady frontcourt presence for Boston after splitting last season between the NBA and G League.

Queta hasn’t replicated Porzingis’ rim protection and isn’t a perimeter shooting threat, but he entered Tuesday ranked third among Celtics players in rebounds per game behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and first in rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes.

Cavs hurting

Mazzulla said the biggest difference between the current Cavaliers, who carried a perfect 15-0 record into Tuesday’s clash, and the Cleveland squad Boston dispatched in the Eastern Conference semifinals was that this one is “healthier.”

At the top of their roster, that’s certainly true. The Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell for two games of the teams’ playoff series and down Jarrett Allen for all five; both have been available and highly impactful this season.

But Cleveland was missing several important role players in this rematch, with Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Caris LeVert all sitting out due to injury. Okoro and Wade have made 15 combined starts this season, and LeVert is the top bench option for head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Atkinson, who didn’t shy away from the hype surrounding this matchup, said playing against the defending champion Celtics would give the Cavs valuable “feedback” about their own championship bona fides.

“Hopefully, we’ll see this team down the road,” he said. “(This is) an important game. On the other hand, I don’t want to blow this game out of proportion. It’s that balance, but it’s more anxious to see where we are. And we all know our schedule has not been the hardest. So we’re playing an elite team, the top team in the league. So I just can’t wait to get some feedback from the game.”

Mazzulla on Montgomery

The Celtics’ fellow TD Garden tenant underwent a coaching change Tuesday, with the reeling Bruins firing Jim Montgomery 20 games into his third season with the club.

Mazzulla, who’s spoken previously about how Boston’s head coaches support each other, called Montgomery’s dismissal an unfortunate reality of their business.

“I talked to him a couple times,” Mazzulla said. “It’s tough. I talked to him a few times, and then watching the games. I didn’t really dive deep into his coaching philosophy or stuff like that. You hate to see a coach have to go through that, but we all get hired to get fired.”

Montgomery and Mazzulla found similar regular-season success in Boston, but each of the former’s first two seasons ended in an early playoff exit. The Bruins then nosedived this season, prompting management to cut bait after an 8-9-3 start.

Joe Sacco will replace Montgomery on an interim basis.

Off the rim

Big Boston sports week for Chris Sale. After attending Patriots-Rams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the former Red Sox ace was among the notable attendees at Celtics-Cavs. … Boston’s remaining schedule for NBA Cup group play: at Washington this Friday and at Chicago next Friday. Unless the Celtics make the knockout rounds and earn a home game in the quarterfinals, Tuesday was their final time playing on the bright-green TD Garden court.

Originally Published: November 19, 2024 at 6:35 PM EST