BOSTON, Massachusetts -- The Cavs escaped the first-round series in a historic Game 7 win against the Orlando Magic on Sunday and are now faced with a quick turnaround with Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s matchup marks the Cavs’ first appearance in the second round of the playoffs since 2018 and their first time making it past the first round without LeBron James since 1993.
Watch Game 1 for free on DirecTV Stream
The Cavs won the last regular season matchup 105-104 on March 5 led by 23 points from Dean Wade, while Jayson Tatum scored 26 points for the Celtics.
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The Boston Celtics had the best record in the NBA over the regular season and were the first team to punch their ticket to the second round with their win last Wednesday over the Miami Heat.
The Cavs’ challenge that they face is a mountain high, but this team has proven time and time again that when their backs are against the wall, or they’re being counted out they find a way to make things interesting. Even in Game 7 against the Magic, when they trailed by 18 points in the second quarter, they managed to turn things around and win the contest by double digits.
In their last series against the Magic, the Cavs protected their homecourt, winning every game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. But with Boston holding homecourt advantage as the No. 1 seed, the Cavs will have to test their mettle on the road to win this series.
Donovan Mitchell scored 89 points over the final two games of the series, which went to seven games, giving him the second-most total points in a Game 6 and 7 stretch in playoff history.
Both teams could be potentially missing key pieces to their frontcourt for this series as Jarrett Allen (right rib contusion) -- who missed three straight games in the second round -- and Dean Wade (right knee sprain) -- who missed the entire first round -- both have sustained injuries that make their availability uncertain for the Cavs. Kristaps Porzingis (right soleus sprain) is also scheduled to miss time during this series, but the Celtics having nearly a week of solely resting and practicing before Game 1 of the second round was helpful for Porzingis’ timeline to return to the court.
The Game 7 win for the Cavs in the previous round showcased the ability of all the role players on their roster to make an impact from Darius Garland’s stellar fourth quarter, Evan Mobley’s defensive display, Caris LeVert’s offensive showcase, Max Strus’ sharpshooting, and seemingly everyone on the roster falling into their roles.
The Cavs will need a similar showing in every game of the series against Boston to relinquish the doubters who believe the Celtics will “kick our ass” in the words of Mitchell.
Here’s what to know about the matchup:
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
Series: Game 1.
Where: TD Garden.
When: 7 p.m. ET.
The point spread: Celtics minus-11.5; O/U 208.5
TV: TNT and TruTV
Injury report
Cavs: Jarrett Allen (rib), QUESTIONABLE; Dean Wade (knee), OUT; Craig Porter Jr. (ankle), OUT; Ty Jerome (ankle), OUT.
Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis (soleus), OUT.
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