Final: Celtics 117, Cavs 113 - Late Cavs run make it close, but Tatum's 41 holds them off

Game 63: Celtics (-5) vs Cleveland Cavaliers, 7:30 p.m., TD Garden, NBCS Boston/ESPN

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari

Cleveland: None 

Cavs probable starters: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Isaac Okoro, Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley

Refs: Josh Tiven (#58), Kevin Cutler (#34), Ray Acosta (#54)

Last time they played: Cavs 114, Celtics 113 (OT), November 2 - Both teams traded dominating quarters with the Cavs dominating the first behind Darius Garland, Boston rolling in the second thanks to Jaylen Brown, and a solid team effort in the third quarter by Cleveland. Boston looked to continue the trend, opening the fourth on a 14-0 run, but this time there was an answer, turning this game into a dogfight down the stretch. Jayson Tatum had a huge dunk and blocked shot to force OT, but Brown missed a buzzer beater and the C’s lost to the Cavs for the second time in a week. 

A little something about this game: The Cavs just broke a three-game losing streak with a win over Toronto. Cleveland is currently the fourth seed, 6.5 games out of first with 18 to play. They're two games behind Philadelphia for the third seed. The Cavs have won both games against the Celtics this season, both of them in overtime. 

How the Celtics win: Spread the Cavs out and take their rim defenders away from the paint. According to CleaningTheGlass, Cleveland is the second best team in the NBA at defending the rim, so the Celtics might want to try to take advantage of that by going with Al Horford and Mike Muscala at times together to pull both Mobley and Allen away from the paint. At that point, the Celtics can run a bunch of high pick-and-rolls and dare those bigs to make decisions. 

How the Cavaliers win: Their bigs scare the Celtics away from the paint and Boston has another shooting game like they did in New York. The Cavs are not a good rebounding team, despite their size, so a big rebounding night with a bunch of putbacks could change things for them as well. 

Things I’m looking for: 

- The bench to step up: With the regular starters back, Derrick White moves to the bench. And with White on the bench, I expect him to help Boston win the bench battle. Cleveland’s reserves are inconsistent, so Boston’s bench can win this game with a big performance. 

- Tatum’s start: If Tatum takes 4-6 free throws in the first quarter, then I’ll be writing about how he put up an MVP worthy game. If he’s attacking and getting fouled early, he’ll be a killer from 3 late. If he spends the first quarter just searching for his jumper, then it becomes a crap shoot. 

- Grant Williams doing … anything … offensively: Just hit a couple of shots. Make a couple of plays. Show me something. 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.