NBA: Dean Wade, Cavaliers mount big rally to end Celtics’ streak
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Dean Wade, right, is mobbed by his teammates after the Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics in an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 5, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
CLEVELAND — Dean Wade made five 3-pointers and scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland won a replay review in the final second to stun Boston 105-104 on Tuesday night, ending the NBA-leading Celtics’ winning streak at 11 games.
With NFL star Travis Kelce urging on Cleveland’s crowd from a courtside seat, the Cavaliers overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
They did it without All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who missed the game with a knee injury, as well as forward Evan Mobley, who went out with a sprained ankle in the third quarter.
Wade, who finished with a career-high 23 points, came to the rescue with his barrage of 3s and a putback dunk with 19.1 seconds left that put the Cavaliers ahead 105-104. He personally outscored the Celtics 20-17 in the fourth.
With 9 minutes left in the 4Q, the Cavs trailed by 22 points, 93-71…
And then Dean Wade TOOK OVER, scoring 20 PTS and hitting 7 triples to lead Cleveland past the 1st-place Celtics 🤯 pic.twitter.com/B4rGXtlcws
— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2024
READ: Max Strus sinks half court buzzer-beater in Cavaliers win
The Celtics looked for a final shot and All-Star Jayson Tatum, who led Boston with 26 points, appeared to draw a foul on Darius Garland while shooting a fadeaway jumper with 0.7 seconds left.
The Cavaliers challenged the call, and following the review, officials said it was Tatum’s leg that caused the contact and not Garland.
It was the latest stirring win at home for the Cavaliers, who beat Dallas last week on Max Strus’s 60-foot shot at the buzzer.
Jarrett Allen added 21 points and Darius Garland 16 with 11 assists for the Cavaliers, who made eight of 11 3-pointers in the fourth. Reserve Georges Niang also made two big 3s in Cleveland’s rally.
READ: Celtics streaking toward NBA playoffs with another 50-point win
Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points and Jaylen Brown had 21 for Boston, which lost for the first time since Feb. 1. The Celtics won three times by more than 40 points in that stretch.
Mitchell, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, has a left knee injury. He’ll miss at least the next two games, and he could be out longer with an injury that wasn’t responding to rest.
Mitchell received a platelet-rich plasma injection on Monday. He’ll be re-examined this weekend.
Cleveland also lost Mobley, who didn’t return after spraining his left ankle with 5:29 left in the third quarter.
The Celtics were coming off a 52-point blowout of Golden State, the club’s third win by 50 or more this season. They were still comfortably up by 16 with 7:28 left, but the Cavs kept chipping away before and Wade finally put them ahead with his fifth 3.
Kelce attended the game with his brother, Jason, as the Cavs gave away a bobblehead depicting the Cleveland-born NFL stars. Jason Kelce, who retired from the Philadelphia Eagles after 13 seasons on Monday, was presented with a No. 62 jersey.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Celtics: At defending champion Denver on Thursday.
Cavaliers: Visit Atlanta on Wednesday.
