Jayson Tatum scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics upset the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-107 on Thursday.
The Celtics advanced to 12-0 at home after defeating the Cavaliers 120-113 on Tuesday. This season, Boston is the only NBA team that has not lost on its home court.
With three minutes remaining, Cleveland trailed 107-102, but Boston replied with a 9-2 run to lead 116-104 after an Al Horford 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining. Tatum scored twice during the run.
Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 31 points, Caris LeVert had 26 and Darius Garland had 19, but the Cavaliers never led. Mitchell also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists. Cleveland was led by Jarrett Allen’s 10 rebounds.
Boston was 17 of 20 from the free-throw line after making all 26 of its tries in Tuesday’s win over Cleveland. The Cavaliers converted 16 of their 17 free throw attempts.
All five starters for Boston scored in double figures. Jaylen Brown had 22, Kristaps Porzingis had 18, Jrue Holiday had 15, and Derrick White had 14. Horford grabbed ten rebounds.
Boston led 33-24 after 12 minutes after hitting six three-pointers. With 2:45 left in the second quarter, a Porzingis free shot gave the Celtics their greatest lead of the first half, 61-47.
Cleveland hit 4 of 20 from beyond the arc in the first half, trailing 65-54 at the break.
With 5:10 remaining in the third quarter, a Mitchell layup capped a 7-0 rally that cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to five points, 80-75. With 1.1 seconds left in the third quarter, Garland scored a 3-pointer, cutting Boston’s lead to 90-87.
After scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter, the Celtics led 97-87. The rest of the way, Cleveland couldn’t pull any closer than five points.
Tatum blocked three of Boston’s eight shots.