The shorthanded Boston Celtics earned a bounce-back win Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 111-101 verdict at TD Garden.
The 16-16 Celtics got back to .500 with the victory while the Cavaliers, who entered as the No. 3 seed
in the Eastern Conference, fell to 19-13.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics, fresh off a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in a game that both Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard said they wished they could have back, put together a solid effort on both ends and benefitted from the Cavaliers having an ice-cold shooting night. Boston took a 23-point lead in the third quarter, and while they (unsurprisingly) allowed the Cavaliers to come back, the Celtics, playing with seven in health and safety protocols, did enough down the stretch to pull out the win. It was a good bounce-back win after a game they should have had two nights prior.
The Celtics held the Cavs to 21.6% from long range (8-for-37) and 38.5% from the field all while turning 15 Cleveland turnovers into 17 points in transition.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Jaylen Brown put together a second straight 30-plus point game. Brown, who scored 30 against the Sixers, finished with 34 points on 12-for-22 from the field in 36 minutes. He added six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in the effort.
-- Robert Williams stuffed the stat sheet in his return after missing Monday's loss to the 76ers due to personal reasons. Williams finished with 21 points on 10-for-12 from the field with 11 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals.
-- Darius Garland led the Cavaliers on the offensive end and was the only starter to score in double-figures. Garland finished with 28 points on 11-for-22 from the field with six assists and three steals.
WAGER WATCH
The Celtics were a 6.5-point favorite entering Wednesday, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, and while there were times it looked like Cleveland could come all the way back for a back-door cover -- it was a 12-point game with three minutes left -- the Celtics did enough to earn a win against the spread. For a bettor who took Celtics -6.5, a $110 bet would have earned a payout of $210.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will travel to Milwaukee for a Christmas Day matchup against the defending champion Bucks on Saturday. Tip off is set for 2:30 p.m. ET.
