National Basketball Association
Cleveland 105, Boston 104
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Officials: #15 Zach Zarba, #51 Aaron Smith, #65 Nate Green
Attendance: 19432

Dean Wade scored 23 points -- 20 in the fourth quarter -- and Jarrett Allen finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 22-point, fourth-quarter deficit and beat the visiting Boston Celtics 105-104 on Tuesday night.

The Celtics trailed by one point when Cleveland's Darius Garland was called for a foul on Jayson Tatum with 0.7 seconds to play, but the Cavaliers challenged the call and it was overturned. The loss ended Boston's 11-game winning streak and its eight-game road winning streak.

Cleveland took a 105-104 lead on a Wade dunk with 19.1 seconds to play. The Cavaliers outscored the Celtics 34-17 in the fourth.

Tatum had 26 points and 13 rebounds. The Celtics received 24 points and nine rebounds from Kristaps Porzingis and 21 points from Jaylen Brown.

The Cavaliers were without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell, who sat out for the third straight game with a left knee bone bruise. Mitchell, who is expected to miss at least two more games, is averaging 28.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and a career-high 6.2 assists per game this season.

Cleveland's Max Strus was also a late scratch because of a knee injury.

Garland and Isaac Okoro each scored 16 points. Garland also had 11 assists.

Cleveland led 9-6 early, but Boston surged ahead by scoring the next 14 points to take a 20-9 lead. The Celtics were up 33-25 after one quarter and led 55-45 at halftime.

Tatum led all scorers with 22 points in the first half, when he also grabbed eight rebounds. Tatum made 7 of 9 field-goal attempts in the half, including five of his six 3-point attempts. The Cavaliers shot 32.1 percent from the field in the half.

Cleveland was within four after Garland capped a 7-0 spurt with a 3-pointer that trimmed Boston's lead to 69-65 with 5:02 left in the third quarter, but the Celtics outscored the Cavaliers 18-6 in the remainder of the frame and had an 87-71 advantage heading into the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Cleveland
Jayson Tatum 26 Scoring Dean Wade 23
Derrick White 7 Assists Darius Garland 11
Jayson Tatum 13 Rebounds Jarrett Allen 12
Jayson Tatum 5 Free Throws Made Jarrett Allen 3
Jrue Holiday 2 Steals Caris LeVert 3
Derrick White 4 Blocks Isaac Okoro 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 104 41.9 15-38 11-12 24 53 9 6 13
Cleveland 105 43.3 20-42 7-11 28 42 3 11 9
Upcoming Games
  • Cleveland will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Cavaliers have a W/L % of .641 after a win and .682 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Celtics have a W/L % of .755 after a win and .917 after a loss.