Cleveland, Boston meet with series tied 1-1
Boston Celtics (64-18, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (48-34, fourth in the Eastern Conference)
Cleveland; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Celtics -7.5; over/under is 212.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Series tied 1-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics are in a 1-1 series tie in the Eastern Conference second round. The Cavaliers defeated the Celtics 118-94 in the last matchup. Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 29 points, and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 25 points.
The Cavaliers are 31-21 in Eastern Conference games. Cleveland is seventh in the league giving up only 110.2 points per game while holding opponents to 46.3% shooting.
The Celtics are 41-11 against Eastern Conference opponents. Boston ranks fifth in the NBA allowing just 109.2 points while holding opponents to 45.3% shooting.
The Cavaliers make 47.9% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.6 percentage points higher than the Celtics have allowed to their opponents (45.3%). The Celtics average 10.4 more points per game (120.6) than the Cavaliers give up to opponents (110.2).
TOP PERFORMERS: Jarrett Allen is averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Mitchell is averaging 26.3 points over the last 10 games.
Jaylen Brown is scoring 23.0 points per game and averaging 5.5 rebounds for the Celtics. Derrick White is averaging 2.9 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cavaliers: 5-5, averaging 99.4 points, 41.3 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 103.6 points per game.
Celtics: 7-3, averaging 112.5 points, 45.1 rebounds, 24.6 assists, 6.5 steals and 6.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 101.2 points.
INJURIES: Cavaliers: Ty Jerome: out (ankle), Dean Wade: day to day (knee), Craig Porter Jr.: day to day (ankle), Jarrett Allen: day to day (rib).
Celtics: Kristaps Porzingis: day to day (soleus).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.