NBA Cup: Celtics appease Cavaliers, Dalton Knecht blows away Lakers

After a remarkable 15-game winning streak, the season's biggest surprise has lost its unbeaten status. The defending NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-117 at TD Garden in another round of the NBA Cup. A colossal first half allowed the Celtics to build a 17-point lead.

It was Jayson Tatum who was the executioner. This is evidenced by the double-double (33 points and 12 rebounds plus 7 assists) achieved by the star of the reigning ring bearer. He was joined by the double digits achieved by the rest of the starting five (Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday) and Payton Pritchard in scoring.

More than respectable was the contribution of Donovan Mitchell who, with 35 points, was the Cavaliers' best. Evan Mobley (22 points and 11 rebounds) and Jarrett Allen (10 points and 11 rebounds) signed a double-double.

In the second half, mainly in the third quarter - in which they scored 40 points - Kenny Atkinson's men swept, but their efforts were in vain.

Lakers keep it going thanks to Knecht

Fifth consecutive victory for the Los Angeles Lakers, which consolidates their position as one of the great teams of the moment. The gold and purple franchise, which already knows what it's like to win the NBA Cup, defeated the Utah Jazz 124-118 at the Crypto.com Arena.

At first glance, the responsibility for the victory might be attributed to LeBron James or Anthony Davis. However, on this occasion, it was not. The leader of the Lakers was Dalton Knecht. The rookie delivered his best performance yet, scoring 37 points.

Meanwhile, James(26 points and 12 assists) and Davis (26 points and 14 rebounds) chipped in with a double-double each. Austin Reaves closed his tally with 17 points. On the other side of the court, the highlight was the 25 points scored by Lauri Markkanen.

Doncic and Dallas wake up

The start of the season of the Dallas Mavericks is far from what was expected, and more knowing the roster they have. But it seems that they like the NBA Cup and want to go for it, something that they demonstrated by beating the New Orleans Pelicans (132-91) in Texas.

Just as they felt his absence in the last game, they also notice when he is present. Because Luka Doncic returned from a minor injury and the Mavericks triumphed. The Slovenian scored 26 points, which were accompanied by the 19 points scored by Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving's 18. Four other Texans players scored more than 10 points.

The Pelicans are suffering the absence of their two stars: Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson. Five players scored 10 or more points.