Less than five minutes had passed in Friday night's final regular-season showdown between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers and the Celtics, and the game already felt over. Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson already had burned his second timeout,

Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points and the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers rallied past the Boston Celtics Friday night in an Eastern Conference showdown.

The Celtics got a huge performance from Jayson Tatum, but the Cavaliers pulled away late on Friday to claim a 123-116 victory.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were probably already going to finish first in the East and head into the playoffs with home-court advantage over the defending champions. But on Friday night, in the last meeting of the regular season between the Cavs and the Boston Celtics,

Donovan Mitchell had 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

Analyzing Friday’s Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics odds and lines, with NBA expert picks, predictions and best bets.

Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to help the Cleveland Cavaliers rally from 22 points down and stun the Boston Celtics 123-116 on Friday night in the final regular-season meeting of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

Throughout the 2024-25 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have looked like they’re a cut above the rest of the Eastern Conference, vindicating the front office’s decision to keep the team’s core four for the foreseeable future.