The Boston Celtics triumph over Cleveland Cavaliers: Starting 5, Nov. 20

With the eyes of the hoops world on them, the Boston Three 

Party arrived. And the Celtics just became the 1 in Cleveland’s 

15-1.

THE LINEUP

Nov. 20, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

Celtics Win Showdown: Boston ends Cleveland’s historic 15-0 

start

Two Titans: Despite the loss, the Cavs proved the East has 

two formidable teams at the top

Emirates Cup Night 3: Knecht catches fire from 3, Russ makes 

more triple-double history

KAT’s NYC Fit: How Karl-Anthony Towns has elevated NY’s 

offense in his first month

Magic Go For 7: Orlando looks to extend the current longest 

win streak in the East

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Where the race for the Cup stands after Tuesday night…

As Group Play in the Emirates NBA 

Cup nears its midpoint – with 26 of the 60 games completed after 

Tuesday – nine teams remain unbeaten.

Wednesday’s 8-game slate features

an ESPN doubleheader between Chicago and Milwaukee (7:30 ET) — with the Bucks winners of 3 of their last 4 — and Knicks-Suns at 10, with New York out for its 4th straight W.

1. CELTICS HAND CAVS 1ST LOSS OF THE SEASON

The Cleveland Cavaliers walked into TD Garden having not lost 

a game since the Celtics ended their season in the same building 

188 days prior, exploding out to a 15-0 start that just three 

teams before them had ever matched.

The Boston Celtics made sure that run didn’t reach 189 days as 

they snapped Cleveland’s 15-game win streak to open the season 

with a 120-117 win on Tuesday.

The game was not only a Playoff rematch and an Emirates NBA Cup 

Group Play game, it was only the fourth time in league history 

that a defending champion faced a team on a win streak of 15 

games or more.

Behind Jayson Tatum’s 33 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and 

six 3s, the Celtics became the third defending champ to snap a 

15+ game win streak as the Celtics held off Donovan Mitchell (35 

pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 3 3s) and the Cavs. | Recap 

| Watch The Final 3:50

| T

atum-Mitchell Duel

Boston’s 3-Point Barrage: The Celtics hit 14 of their 22 3

-pointers in the 1st half as they built a double-digit lead that ballooned to as high as 21 early in the 3rd quarter

3s For Everybody: Tatum’s six triples led six Celtics with at

least two 3s in the win. Al Horford and Derrick White each knocked down four, while Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard hit three apiece and Jaylen Brown added a pair

Triple 20s: Boston hit 20+ 3s for the third straight game,

marking only the third time that’s happened in NBA history. The other two teams? Last year’s Celtics with four straight games and the 2021-22 Jazz with three straight

Cavs Comeback: Facing their first 20+ point deficit of the 

season, the Cavs used an 18-3 run in the 3rd quarter to make it a 

six-point game, part of a 40-point 3rd quarter that got them back 

in the game and set up a thrilling finish.

Bend But Don’t Break: The Cavs cut the Celtics’ lead to two

points five different times over the game’s final 13:19, but Boston never surrendered the lead, always finding an answer – including Tatum’s buzzer-beater to end the 3rd quarter up by five

No 3s For You: The Celtics held the league’s top 3-point

shooting team (41.9% entering the game) to 34.5% shooting, as the Cavs made a season-low 10 3s on their second-fewest attempts of the season at 29

Cup Update: The Celtics and Cavs may be the top two teams in

the East, but they do not sit atop East Group C. At 1-1, both teams trail 2-0 Atlanta in Group Play

2. TWO BEASTS IN THE EAST

Last season, the Celtics ran away with the Eastern Conference, 

clinching the best record in the East with three weeks remaining 

in the season and finishing with a 14-game lead over the 

second-place finisher.

From what the Cavs have shown over this season’s opening month – 

including Tuesday’s loss in Boston – the top of the East could be 

a battle every step of the way in 2024-25.

After getting hit with a 3-point deluge in the 1st half – the

Celtics made as many 3s (14-of-22) as the Cavs attempted (4-of-14) – and then seeing the lead grow to 21 in the first four minutes of the 2nd half, the Cavs didn’t panic

They just kept working, kept battling, kept doing the things

that helped them start the season 15-0. With Darius Garland mired in an off shooting night (3-of-21), Donovan Mitchell shouldered more of the load – scoring 22 of his game-high 35 points in the 2nd half

The Cavs have the seventh-highest scoring bench in the league –

and Ty Jerome (10 pts, 4-5 FG), Georges Niang (11 pts, 5-8 FG) and Craig Porter Jr. (15 pts, 6-8 FG, 3-3 3P) all helped Cleveland get back into the game

In the end, it wasn’t enough as their historic streak to open 

the season came to an end, but Mitchell is keeping things in 

perspective.

Mitchell: “You want to be a part of history in that regard.

But it’s a thing of the past. It’s over with. And, you know, it was a good run … It’s great to be part of history. We wish we had kept it going. But, like I said, there’s no championships in November.”

So what happens next? The Cavs don’t have to wait long to wash 

away their first taste of defeat as they host the Pelicans 

tonight in Cleveland (7:30 ET

).

And, they don’t have to wait long to test themselves against 

the Celtics again as the two face off for the second of four 

matchups this regular season on Dec. 1 in Cleveland.

Cavs Coach Kenny Atkinson: “We have a lot to store in the

bank … A lot of stuff we can improve on. I could’ve been better prepared on both ends of the ball. Credit to them, we’ll have another shot at them soon.”

Tatum: “They’ve been the best team in the league, all season

… we feel like [we’re] the best team, it’s all in competition so we [were] ready to play today.”

Mitchell: “This was a great test for us, and unfortunately we

didn’t get the win… “It’s definitely a measuring stick. You want to see where you’re at, but not hold too much weight on it. … We’re not going to be the same team now that we are in April.”

3. ROUNDUP: KNECHT GOES OFF, RUSS HITS MILESTONE & MORE

Lakers 124, Jazz 118 (West Group B): Will the 

Los Angeles Lakers ever lose a game in NBA Cup competition? After 

going a perfect 7-0 to capture the inaugural Cup last season, 

L.A. improved to 2-0 in Group Play behind a rookie shooting 

performance for the ages.

Dalton Knecht erupted for 37 points with nine 3s 

– trying the rookie record held by Keyonte George (2024), Yogi 

Ferrell (2017) and Roddy Beaubois (2010) – while LeBron James (12 

ast) and Anthony Davis (14 reb) added 26-point double-doubles in 

L.A.’s sixth straight win. | Recap

Lakers Coach JJ Redick On Knecht: “He’s fearless … his

shotmaking gets us going, it’s a real weapon for our group.”

What’s the proper reaction when you become only the fifth 

Lakers rookie to score 35+ points in a game and only the fourth 

NBA rookie to score 35+ points on 75% shooting on FGs and 3s? Hit 

the MJ shrug.

Spurs 110, Thunder 104 (West Group B): Playing without Wemby, 

the Spurs won their first-ever NBA Cup game as Keldon Johnson (22 

pts, 6 3s) led seven Spurs in double figures as San Antonio built 

a 21-point lead and held off a Thunder rally to drop OKC to 1-1 

in Group Play. | Recap 

Mavs 132, Pelicans 91 (West Group C): Luka Doncic (26 pts), 

Klay Thompson (19) and Kyrie Irving (18) combined for 63 points 

as the Mavs led wire-to-wire in a win over the Pelicans. Both 

teams sit 1-1 in Group Play, but Dallas has the top point 

differential (+38) in the league. | Recap 

Nets 116, Hornets 115 (East Group A): With leading 

scorer Cam Thomas out (back), the Nets rallied from 17 down to 

defeat the Hornets for their first Group Play win behind Cam 

Johnson’s 34 points and six 6s.

Charlotte’s Tre Mann delivered the dunk of the night above, 

while Brandon Miller (29 pts, 5 3s) missed a potential game-tying 

3 with 1.1 seconds left. Brooklyn improves to 1-1 in Group Play, 

while Charlotte drops to 0-2. | Recap 

| Watch The Final 3:48

Nuggets 122, Grizzlies 110 (West Group C): With the season 

leader in triple-doubles (Nikola Jokić, 6) missing his third 

straight game, the all-time leader in triple-doubles (Russell 

Westbrook) recorded the 200th of his career 

(12 pts, 10 reb, 14 ast) to lead Denver over Memphis to move to 

1-1 in Group Play, while the Grizzlies drop to 0-2. | Recap 

4. TONIGHT ON ESPN: TOWNS, NEW-LOOK KNICKS VISIT SUNS

A week before training camp, the Knicks stunned the NBA by 

acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota in a three-team 

blockbuster trade.

The trade brought Towns – who grew up in Edison, NJ, which is 

30 miles outside of NYC – back home, where he is playing some of 

his best ball in his 10th NBA season.

Towns: “My dad, my mom, immigrating over here from the

Dominican Republic, Madison Square Garden, to her, was the Mecca. And to our family, it’s always been the Mecca. To be able to play in a place that was so revered by her. Obviously, it strikes a different emotion.”

For Towns, the four-time All-Star is posting near career-best 

numbers across the board with major improvements from last season 

in Minnesota.

Towns is one of four players to average 25 points and 10

rebounds so far this season. His 26.2 ppg is just 0.3 shy of his career-high and a 4.4 ppg increase from last season, while his 12.4 rpg matches his career best

Towns ranks sixth in the NBA in 3-point shooting at a

career-best 51.5% – a near 10 percentage point jump from last season. His 61.9% effective FG% and 66.2 true shooting percentage rank him in the top 10 in both categories (min. 10 FGA per game)

Towns has never been this efficient – posting career-best

numbers in offensive rating (123.5, 7th in NBA), net rating (7.7) and PIE (18.0, 5th in NBA) while averaging a career-low 1.8 turnovers

For the Knicks, they’ve seen significant offensive improvements 

from last season.

Rising Offense: New York is averaging 4.1 more points this

season (116.9, 6th in NBA) compared to last season (112.8, 19th), thanks in large part to higher shooting splits (50.0 FG%, 38.8 3P%, 81.3 FT%) across all three scoring areasBetter Ball Movement: The Knicks jumped from 29th in assists last season (24.4) to 10th so far this season (27.6), while also moving up from 15th in turnovers (13.2 per game) last season to third (12.0)

Highest Marks: In 28 seasons of play-by-play data (since

1996-97), the Knicks are posting their highest offensive rating (121.1), net rating (5.8), effective FG% (57.8) and true

shooting% (60.9)

Jalen Brunson On Towns: “He has so much gravity on the floor

when he’s out there. People have to respect it, people help, they know that he’s obviously one of the best shooters in the league. He brings another dynamic to this team.”

Tonight (10 ET, ESPN

), Towns, Brunson and the Knicks face the Suns in Phoenix 

looking for their fourth consecutive win. The Suns seek to end a 

four-game skid without Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant due to calf 

injuries.

5. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: MAGIC GO FOR 7TH STRAIGHT WIN

Orlando’s Paolo Banchero suffered a torn oblique on Oct. 30 – 

just two days after dropping a career-best 50 points to lift the 

Magic to 3-1 to open the season.

In the first week without their All-Star forward, the Magic 

dropped four straight games. But since then, they have rattled 

off six straight wins to climb to third in the East.

The Magic put that win streak on the line as they open a 

two-game set in Los Angeles – visiting the Clippers at Intuit 

Dome tonight (10:30 ET

) and the Lakers (the other team on a six-game win streak) at 

Crypto.com Arena tomorrow (10:30 ET).

The Wagner Way: Leading the Magic during this streak are the 

Wagner brothers – Franz (29.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 6.3 apg) and Moritz 

(14.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg)

Many Hands: The Magic have seven players averaging at least 8.0

points per game during the win streak as they’ve won games by an average of 17.5 ppg

Orlando isn’t the only team looking to 

build upon wins during tonight’s eight-game slate.

Bulls at Bucks (7:30 ET, ESPN): After opening the season 2-8, the Bucks have won three of their last four – the most recent W coming on a Damian Lillard game-winner. Can they keep the momentum going against the 6-9 Bulls?

Blazers at Thunder (8 ET, LP

): The Blazers go for their first four-game win streak in two years when they visit the Thunder, who have dropped two in a row for the first time this season

Four more games on League Pass round out the eight-game night.

Pelicans at Cavaliers (7:30 ET)

Pacers at Rockets (8 ET)

Sixers at Grizzlies (8 ET)

Hawks at Warriors (10 ET)