BOSTON — Tuesday night was a clash of two titans. On one side, the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics, who were sitting in second place in the East heading into the night. On the other, the 15-0 Cleveland Cavaliers, who are the only team above Boston in the Eastern Conference standings and the last undefeated team remaining in the association.
On top of all of that, it was an NBA Cup game, creating a million different storylines. Boston got off to a red-hot start, but a monster third quarter from the Cavs brought them all the way back. By the fourth, things were neck and neck. But the Celtics held on, earning a 120-117 win and spoiling the Cavs’ undefeated season.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ NBA Cup win over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Stud - Jayson Tatum
Though Tuesday night was just another regular season game, it didn’t look it for Jayson Tatum. From the moment the game tipped off, he was locked in on both ends of the floor.
A monster first half highlighted an incredible evening for the superstar, as he finished the first two quarters with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals while shooting 6-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc.
The best part about Tatum’s game was his deliberateness. He wasn’t just shooting shots for the sake of it. He attacked mismatches, carefully plotted his drives to the rim, and executed some impressive passes.
And defensively, Tatum was elite, too. No matter if he had Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, or anyone else on him, Tatum didn’t give an inch.
It was one of his best performances of the season.
Dud - Jaylen Brown
This wasn't necessarily a bad game from Jaylen Brown. Wins of this caliber often don’t come with many bad individual performances. But he just felt a bit rushed at times throughout the night.
Despite his nice assist number, Brown got sloppy with the ball at times, committing some questionable turnovers. He was also driving into spots that were difficult for him to get out of.
Combine that with his inefficient scoring performance, and it’s enough to land him on a duds list for a game that didn’t come with many duds.
Stud - Al Horford
Just one game after posting a season-high 18 points against the Toronto Raptors, Al Horford snapped that mark. He was an essential part of Boston’s offense.
After passing up on a couple of threes that he could have taken in the first quarter, Horford completely changed his tune, letting it fly from deep. And his scoring was huge for Boston.
Horford gave the Celtics a nice boost in that area from behind the arc and inside it. He was doing a bit of everything for the Celtics, including providing them with great defense.
Cleveland’s big-man duo of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are going to do what they do, but Horford stood up to them well on the defensive end.
Dud - Neemias Queta
This was a rough one for Neemias Queta, as the Cavs were relentlessly targeting him on the defensive end. It was at its worst in the third quarter, as it felt like every time Mitchell or Garland had the ball, they’d bring Queta into the action and go to work.
He got blown by over and over again, leading to an avalanche of points in the paints for Cleveland. And his work inside wasn’t ideal, either. Outside of a few possessions where he acted as a decent rim deterrent, he was getting spun around.
Queta made a few nice plays offensively, including a lob and some fights on the offensive glass, but his brutal defense far outweighed those positives.
Stud - Derrick White and Jrue Holiday
Boston’s backcourt was unbelievable on Tuesday night. They were locked in every aspect of the game and gave the Celtics some great minutes.
Both guys were unconscious from behind the three-point line. It felt like every time Tatum, Brown, or anyone else created an open catch-and-shoot look, they knocked it down. White had some nice moments of self-creation, too, bailing the Celtics out with some nice floaters in the lane.
And on defense, they were great, too. White’s monster block highlighted their evening on that end, and both were menaces on the perimeter. Holiday, in particular, was holding up well against anyone the Cavs put in front of him.
On a night where the Celtics needed everyone to be playing as one, White and Holiday were awesome.
Dud - Third quarter
Queta’s tough defensive showing was at the core of this issue, bot the Celtics weren’t great on either end in the third quarter. That’s when the Cavs climbed all the way back to make this game interesting.
Mobley scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, leading the charge for Cleveland as the Celtics looked taken aback. Their defense and offense both sputtered, leading to a 40-28 Cavs advantage in the third.
While the defense was definitely the worst of the two sides of the ball (as the 40 points would indicate), their offense wasn’t amazing either.
Boston still put up 28 points (largely thanks to Tatum’s 11), but there were a few too many isolation possessions in big spots.
The Celtics’ third-quarter defense was rough, and it led to a very brutal stretch.