Boston Celtics end Cleveland Cavaliers’ unbeaten start to the season, Lakers rookie makes history and more from the NBA

The Boston Celtics handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their first defeat of the season on Tuesday, holding off a spirited fightback to record a thrilling 120-117 victory.

The Boston Celtics handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their first defeat of the season on Tuesday, holding off a spirited fightback to record a thrilling 120-117 victory. The Cavaliers became just the fourth team in NBA history to start a season 15-0, but a huge night from Boston star Jason Tatum ensured Cleveland left TD Garden with a ‘1’ in the loss column. Tatum finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals in an all-around performance. The rest of the team shared the scoring burden for Boston, with a total of six players reaching double figures: Al Horford had 20 points, Derrick White 19, Jaylen Brown 17, Payton Pritchard 13 and Jrue Holiday had 11. White said after the game that the players felt the added excitement of hosting the only unbeaten team in the league, a team the Celtics ousted in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season. “Everybody knew that they were undefeated and coming to our building,” he said. “And also, it’s an NBA Cup game, and we already lost one game, so it was a really big game in that aspect. So, we were all aware.”