The streaking Cleveland Cavaliers tested themselves against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics and came away with a loss — and a lot to work on.

The defending NBA champions held off the league’s hottest team, with Jayson Tatum scoring 33 points and adding 12 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 120-117 victory over Cleveland and hand the Cavaliers their first loss after 15 straight wins to open the season.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo offered a handshake to Jaylen Brown after committing an offensive foul against the Boston Celtics wing — only to pull his hand back at the last moment.

The Boston Celtics stayed cool while Charlotte Hornets lost theirs.

The Boston Celtics tied the NBA record by making 29 3-pointers in their victory over the New York Knicks.

Jayson Tatum continued Boston’s Banner 18 celebration by scoring 37 points and making eight of the Celtics’ NBA record-tying 29 3-pointers as Boston ran away with a 132-109 victory over the New York Knicks on opening night.

The Boston Celtics have raised Banner 18 to the rafters.

The Boston Celtics begin this season as the NBA champions.

The NBA returned to the Persian Gulf on Friday for the third consecutive year.

The NBA has expanded the permissible scope of coach’s challenge reviews on some out-of-bounds plays, saying Tuesday that if a foul should have been called on the play it now can be assessed shortly after the fact.

A film project has earned former Boston Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis a temporary reprieve from the start of his three-year prison term for a fraud conviction.

Kyrie Irving has a broken left hand that required surgery after getting injured in an offseason workout.

Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham isn’t going anywhere, any time soon.

The ownership group that controls the NBA champion Boston Celtics says it intends to sell all its shares of the team.

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will miss 5-6 months after left ankle surgery.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan says he understands why Rory McIlroy withdrew from the Travelers Championship to recover from a late-Sunday meltdown at the U.S. Open.

It took more than a decade, savvy front office and draft moves, and some free agency growing pains for the Celtics to ultimately build the roster that ended their 16-year championship drought.

Kyrie Irving sounds as if he wants to stay in Dallas in the long term after the Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games in the NBA Finals.

In the NBA, it’s already next season.

In 2008, the Celtics ended a 22-year championship drought led by a Big 3.

Dallas needed Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to be at their best in Game 5 against the Boston Celtics.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Celtics topped the Dallas Mavericks 106-88 to claim the franchise’s 18th championship, breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.

Kristaps Porzingis returned to play for the Celtics as they attempted to close out the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics’ catastrophic performance in Game 4 of the NBA Finals gave them a chance to clinch their unprecedented 18th championship under the banners already hanging in the TD Garden rafters.

For the Dallas Mavericks and the Edmonton Oilers, the comeback efforts are just beginning and still have very long ways to go.

The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.

Kyrie Irving’s personal 13-game losing streak against the Celtics is over.

Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night, fending off elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Kristaps Porzingis will be in uniform and available to play in a limited role when the Boston Celtics try to wrap up a sweep of the NBA Finals in Game 4 against the Dallas Mavericks.

Al Horford has never been this close to winning an NBA championship.

Luka Doncic fouled at when the Dallas Mavericks were making a furious comeback attempt in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics held off a furious Dallas rally to reach the brink of a record 18th championship with a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks for a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Joe Mazzulla is a big fan of UFC matches and splices highlights of fights into some of the basketball video he shows the Boston Celtics for their video sessions.

Kristaps Porzingis did not play for the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA Finals because of a rare tendon injury in his lower left leg suffered in the previous game.

The last 12 games where Kyrie Irving has played against the Boston Celtics have all ended with the same outcome.

There have been two versions of Jayson Tatum so far in the NBA Finals.

Kristaps Porzingis has a dislocated tendon in his lower left leg but hasn’t been ruled out for Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics against the Dallas Mavericks.

The Boston Celtics had the NBA Finals in mind when they went out and acquired Jrue Holiday.

Game 2 provided Dallas with a huge chance.

Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum made up for a rough shooting night with 12 assists and nine rebounds as the Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 on Sunday night to take a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Luka Doncic is piling up injuries and points in these NBA Finals.

Jason Kidd couldn’t figure out how to stop the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Joe Mazzulla watches as many Manchester City matches as he can, and there’s a clear symmetry there between that English soccer powerhouse and his Boston Celtics.

When the Boston Celtics make a ton of 3-pointers, forget it.

If Mavericks point guard Kyrie Irving was hoping to quiet the Boston fans with a big game in the opener of the NBA Finals, it didn’t quite go that way.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 20 in his first game in more than a month and the Boston Celtics powered past the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Bill Walton only spent one full season with the Boston Celtics, but his impact was unforgettable.

Getting the NBA’s next round of media rights deals completed is an extremely complex proposition, Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday, especially because nobody can say with any certainty what the viewing landscape will look like in the future.

The Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics prepare to tip off the NBA Finals and the four biggest names in the series are looking at this moment through different lenses.

Joe Mazzulla was thrust into a job he didn’t expect to have following former Celtics coach Ime Udoka’s suspension just days before the start of training camp last season.

The Celtics traded for 7-footer Kristaps Porzingis this past offseason hoping he might be the missing piece to help them hoist their 18th title.

The Boston Celtics completed one quest Monday night by making it back to the NBA Finals.

Derrick White’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 43 seconds left gave Boston the lead and the Celtics closed out a four-game sweep of the Indiana Pacers 105-102 to reach the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.

Jrue Holiday overcame an illness to convert the go-ahead three-point play with 38 seconds left, then make the game-saving steal to help the Boston Celtics rally from an 18-point deficit to beat the Indiana Pacers 114-111 on Saturday night for a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Tyrese Haliburton will not play for the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston on Saturday night because of an injured left hamstring.

The Indiana Pacers are a perfect 6-0 at home in this season's playoffs.

Jaylen Brown matched his career playoff high with 40 points and the Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 126-110 to open a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Indiana All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton left in the third quarter because of left hamstring soreness and a chest injury in the Pacers’ 126-110 loss to Boston on Thursday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Indiana Pacers kept turning the ball over, and just like that they handed a victory to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Jayson Tatum scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime after Jaylen Brown’s tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Boston Celtics rallied just in time for a 133-128 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

So much about the journey the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers have taken to the Eastern Conference finals has been about who – they haven’t had to face to get to here.

The Celtics are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive season following their 4-1 series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 on to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will try to extend their season without star Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert, who were both ruled out prior to Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with Boston.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points with LeBron James watching from a courtside seat and the Boston Celtics beat the severely short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 in Game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their East semifinal series.

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell missed Game 4 against the Boston Celtics on Monday with a left calf injury, a devastating loss that will make it even tougher for Cleveland to get back in the series.

Donovan Mitchell did his part for the Cavaliers.

Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, Jaylen Brown added 28 and the Boston Celtics looked more like themselves after stumbling at home, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 106-93 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Cavaliers forward Dean Wade is expected to make his playoff debut in Game 3 against the Boston Celtics on Saturday night after being sidelined the past two months with a strained right knee.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics 118-94 and tie their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Former Boston Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced to 40 months in a federal prison for his participation in a scheme that New York prosecutors said defrauded an insurance plan for NBA players and their families of more than $5 million.

Jaylen Brown scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics powered past the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

The Boston Celtics ran away from the rest of the NBA in the regular season.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Brad Stevens has been announced as the NBA’s executive of the year.

Derrick White scored a career-high 38 points, Jayson Tatum added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat 102-88 to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Boston center Kristaps Porzingis left the Celtics’ playoff game in Miami on Monday night late in the first half with what the team said was right calf tightness.

There’s been a notion in the NBA for years, one that says the game changes when the postseason rolls around.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points, and the Boston Celtics soundly beat the Miami Heat 104-84 to a take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on Saturday night.

Tyler Herro hit six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers to lead the Heat to a 111-101 victory over the Boston Celtics and tie their first-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Jayson Tatum notched his first career playoff triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to lead the Boston Celtics past the Miami Heat 114-94 to open their first-round playoff series.

The Boston Celtics had almost no trouble at all with the 14 teams that didn’t make the playoffs this season, going 35-4 against those squads.

The Celtics spent the regular season racking up superlatives and pulverizing opponents with one of the league’s most versatile rosters.

Jrue Holiday agreed to terms on a four-year, $135 million contract extension with the Celtics, his agent Jason Glushon confirmed.

Giannis Antetokounmpo left the Milwaukee Bucks’ game with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night with an apparent injury to his left leg.

After the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, the focus of the NBA’s best team quickly turned to something else: watching Caitlin Clark and the final minutes of Iowa’s victory over LSU in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

De’Andre Hunter scored 24 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining, and the patched-together Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 30-point deficit for a stunning 120-118 victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in leading the Denver Nuggets to a 115-109 win over Boston and a season sweep of the Celtics.

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, ending the NBA-leading Celtics’ winning streak at 11 games.

Steve Kerr spoiled the Boston Celtics’ last, best chance at another NBA title.

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend has taken shaking it off to another level.

Jaylen Brown scored 29 points, Jayson Tatum had 27 on his 26th birthday, and the NBA-best Boston Celtics posted their third-largest winning margin in franchise history, drubbing the weary Golden State Warriors 140-88.

Jayson Tatum made five 3-pointers and scored 32 points and the Boston Celtics overcame Luka Doncic’s second straight triple-double to beat the Dallas Mavericks 138-110 and extend their season-best winning streak to 10 games.

Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks 116-102 for their eighth consecutive victory.

Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum announced Tuesday a gift of $1 million from the financial services company SoFi to his nonprofit.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and the Boston Celtics withstood a late rally to beat the Miami Heat 110-106.

Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and sparked a third-quarter rally to help the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their 40th win of the season, 133-129 over the Washington Wizards.

Austin Reaves scored a season-high 32 points and hit a career-high seven 3-pointers to help a Los Angeles Lakers team missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis stun the Boston Celtics 114-105 on Thursday night.

Jamal Murray scored 35 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 34 and the Denver Nuggets held on to hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season 102-100.

Jayson Tatum scored 45 points — 14 of them in the fourth quarter and another 12 in overtime — as the Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-120 in a matchup of the two conference leaders to remain perfect at home.