Paul Pierce takes cocky victory lap as Celtics hand Cavs 1st loss of season

Ahead of Tuesday night’s showdown between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, former Celtics star Paul Pierce predicted that Boston would hand Cleveland its first loss of the 2024-25 regular season.

Pierce’s prophecy ended up coming to fruition, as the Celtics won the game in question behind a spectacular all-around performance from Jayson Tatum, who finished with a near triple-double of 33 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Pierce took to X after the Celtics snapped the Cavaliers’ undefeated start to the season and reacted joyfully.

If it weren’t for Cavaliers guard Darius Garland’s woeful performance, perhaps Cleveland would have been able to extend its undefeated start to the season. He simply couldn’t buy a bucket, as he finished with eight points, his second-lowest scoring total in a game this campaign, and misfired on all but three of his 21 shots from the field.

But even with how poorly Garland played from a scoring standpoint, the Cavaliers only lost to the Celtics by three points. It’s also of note that the Cavaliers were without key players like Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Caris LeVert in the matchup. Of course, they were also missing a couple of players who have been sidelined all season, like Max Strus and Emoni Bates.

Still, the Celtics weren’t at full strength either, as they remained without Kristaps Porzingis. They sent a message with their win on Tuesday that the defending NBA champions are still the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Fortunately for NBA fans, these two conference heavyweights will face off again in the near future. The Cavaliers are slated to host the Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 1 in what should be another thrilling contest.

In order for the Cavaliers to maintain their lead over the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings, it might be important for Cleveland to pick up a win in that game. After all, Boston is currently just 2.5 games back of Cleveland with a great record of 12-3.

Perhaps by the time the Cavaliers play the Celtics for the second time this season, Cleveland will be healthier and in better shape to pick up a win.