BOSTON — The significance of Jaylen Brown’s final quote Friday night could have easily been missed. It would have gone over the head of anyone without knowledge of the remaining NBA schedule. Still, the deeper meaning of his message was clear to those who realized Friday night counted as the Celtics and Cavaliers’ final regular-season matchup.
“Looking forward to the next time we see them,” Brown said.
Brown theoretically could have meant next season, but that possibility seems far-fetched. In all likelihood, his words revealed that he fully expects to see Cleveland again in the playoffs. After the Celtics allowed two big comebacks Friday, one in each half of a 123-116 loss to the league-leading Cavaliers, a postseason series between the two clubs seems as probable as ever. Brown, at least, is bracing to see Donovan Mitchell and company again in the Eastern Conference finals.
Especially after Friday, why shouldn’t Brown anticipate a postseason collision with Cleveland? The Knicks have been good, the Pistons are surging and the Bucks might have the Eastern Conference’s best player, but the Celtics and Cavaliers have looked a class or two ahead of their competition. Boston has the more proven roster and the championship pedigree. Cleveland has put together one of the best regular seasons by any team in recent memory. On Friday, the Celtics opened the game by smashing the Cavaliers over the top of the head with a 25-3 run, but Mitchell and his teammates flew out of the big deficit quickly. Tatum and Brown combined to score 83 points, the most they’ve ever notched in one game, and still Cleveland overcame the All-Star duo’s huge outing.
“I think it was a good fight,” Brown said. “I think, give credit to Cleveland, they played well. They shot the ball incredibly well, made timely baskets and they climbed back into the game on the road. That’s tough to do. So you’ve gotta give them credit. Do I think we had enough to win the game (even without the injured Jrue Holiday and sick Kristaps Porziņģis)? I think so, for sure. We’ll look at it on film and get better and see spots we can all improve on. But regardless of who was sitting out, we should have won this game.”
Before everything crumbled, the Celtics opened with five minutes of near perfection. Over that time, they drilled seven 3-pointers, missed just three field goal attempts, forced two Cavaliers timeouts and looked very much like a championship favorite. On the first defensive possession, Brown bent down in a stance, spread his arms out wide and picked up Mitchell near half court. Though Mitchell ended up using a crossover to create separation for an open look, Brown’s intensity issued the first sign of his team’s intentions. The Celtics wanted to flatten the league-leading Cavaliers, who had not lost since a matchup with Boston on Feb. 4.
“It was definitely an intense game, a great atmosphere,” Brown said. “You could tell they wanted to beat us, and we came out swinging.”
FIRST HALF 30 PIECE pic.twitter.com/ER3WdONRWe
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 1, 2025
The Celtics couldn’t sustain their strong start. Notably, the Cavaliers took them out of their usual egalitarian style. Kenny Atkinson said he instructed his team to limit Boston’s 3-point attempts, and Cleveland did that nearly as well as any opponent has all season. The Celtics finished with 39 3-point attempts, tied for their fifth-lowest total of the season, with just 13 of those tries coming in the second half. Unlike many other teams, who force the ball out of Brown’s and Jayson Tatum’s hands, the Cavaliers sold out to stop Boston’s supporting cast.
The strategy didn’t always work. Tatum racked up 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists before halftime, becoming the first player ever to reach all of those marks in a single half in the play-by-play era (beginning in 1997-98). He finished with 46 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. Brown, who added 37 points, might have joined Tatum in the 40-point club if it weren’t for foul trouble. The Celtics scored 124.7 points per 100 possessions, a better-than-average night even by their high standards.
Still, Boston shot only 39 percent from the field in the second half while making just three of 13 3-point attempts. The Cavaliers were able to limit the other Celtics. Outside of Tatum and Brown, only Derrick White (16 points) scored in double figures.
“Tonight they for the most part stayed home,” Brown said. “We’ve gotta make them pay.”
As much as he and Tatum produced, Brown believed he should have done more.
“I probably could have had more in some spots where I probably could have gotten a better shot or been a little more patient, even for myself,” Brown said. “And same for Jayson. They don’t want to help. I think they were trying to take away our spacing and our shooting, so they were just staying on us instead of trying to make us make the reads and pass. So that means we’ve gotta dominate every time down the floor. I felt like I let them off the hook maybe a few times where I could have used some shot fakes, some possessions I definitely want to have back, but for the most part we were aggressive and that was key for us.”
Historically, the Celtics have been nearly invincible when Tatum and Brown each score at least 30 points. But the Cavaliers never went away. After falling behind by 22 points over the first five minutes, they quickly cut the deficit to a single possession later in the first half. Boston extended the lead to double digits again and held it there for much of the third quarter, but a Mitchell spurt brought the Cavaliers within a point late in the period and an Evan Mobley 3-pointer put them ahead early in the fourth.
As much as Boston’s stars controlled the action with the ball in their hands, Cleveland’s top-ranked offense also had its way. The Cavaliers shot 47.9 percent from the field, including 43.6 percent on 3-point attempts. Mitchell (41 points) and Darius Garland (20) gave the Celtics problems off the bounce. Mobley showed off his improving game. The high-powered Cleveland bench, led by Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter, controlled the game for extended stretches. The Cavaliers outscored Boston by 34 points over Jerome’s 21 minutes.
Not many teams could have overcome Boston’s start, especially at TD Garden. But the Cavaliers, who won their ninth straight game, showed again why they have established themselves atop the Eastern Conference standings.
“One of the (improvements from last season), they’re healthy,” said Al Horford. “But I think that Kenny Atkinson just has them playing at a very high level. Their depth helps them. I just think that Kenny and the way that he’s got them going, they’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”
The Celtics could have beaten down some of that confidence Friday. Instead, they gave Cleveland more reason to believe.
Even so, a regular-season outcome won’t necessarily translate in the playoffs. In the postseason, intensity rises. Game plans tighten. Weaknesses are exposed.
“If we play them in a series, we’re a pretty versatile team, so we’ll be able to give different looks,” Brown said. “Tonight, (Mitchell) tried to find the matchups that he wanted and things like that to get himself in a good spot, but as we potentially see them down the line, we’ll have some good information.”
Brown almost sounded like he’s already preparing for the Eastern Conference finals, tucking away little morsels to help him later on. Anything could happen in the playoffs, of course, but the Celtics and Cavaliers sure do look like they are headed straight for each other.
“Two really good teams, well-coached, deep roster, know how to play, compete,” Tatum said. “I think all four matchups have been really fun and high level. And as a fan, you enjoy watching it. As a competitor, you enjoy being a part of those. And whatever happens down the line, if we see them again, certain it’ll be more of the same high-level basketball.”
Brown seems to believe the Celtics and Cavaliers will square off again.
“If we play them in a series,” Brown said, “we’ll be ready.”
(Photo of Darius Garland defending Jayson Tatum: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
