Cavs playoffs: Cleveland Cavaliers to face Boston Celtics in Round 2. Game 1 is Tuesday
The Cleveland Cavaliers are headed to Round 2 of the NBA playoffs after eliminating the Magic on Sunday.
The Cavs could view the second round of the NBA playoffs as a given during LeBron James' two stints with the team. With the Cavs, James never lost a first-round playoff series, going 9-for-9.
Minus LeBron? The second round is pretty rare territory for the Cavs. This is just the fourth non-LeBron-led Cavs team to win its opening playoff series. And only the third of those teams to do it in the current playoff format.
The Cavs get the top-seeded Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Here's what we know about the series:
When do the Cavaliers play next?
The Cavs open the best-of-seven series in Boston at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The game will be televised nationally by TNT.
The Cavs are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference bracket, while the Celtics are the No. 1 seed. The Knicks and Pacers are on the other half of the bracket. Their Game 1 is Monday.
Cavs playoff schedule
The Cavs-Celtics series will open with two games in Boston, two in Cleveland and then alternate between the two cities, if Games 5, 6 and 7 become necessary.
Here's a look at the schedule released by the NBA.
Game 1: Cavs at Celtics - 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 7 in Boston on TNT
Game 2: Cavs at Celtics - 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, in Boston on ESPN
Game 3: Cavs vs. Celtics - 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11 in Cleveland on ABC
Game 4: Cavs vs. Celtics - time TBD Monday, May 13 in Cleveland on TNT
Game 5: Cavs at Celtics - time TBD Wednesday, May 15, in Boston, TNT (if necessary)
Game 6: Cavs vs. Celtics - time TBD Friday, May 17, in Cleveland, ESPN (if necessary)
Game 7: Cavs at Celtics - time TBD Sunday, May 19, in Boston, TV TBD (if necessary)
NBA playoff bracket: Eastern Conference semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers
(2) New York Knicks vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
Cavs vs. Celtics scores this season
The Cavs and Celtics played three times, with Boston going 2-1. The Celtics won both games played in Boston and the Cavs won on their home floor.
The two games in Boston were played back in December when the two teams played each other in consecutive games. The Celtics won 120-113 on Dec. 12 and 116-107 on Dec. 14. Cleveland won 105-104 on March 5.
Cavs forward Evan Mobley did not play in either December game and was limited in his minutes when they played in March, while All-Star Donovan Mitchell did not play in the March game.
Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played in all three games.
The Cavs beat the Celtics in the 'Dean Wade Game'
Cleveland's win over Boston this season was memorable for three reasons: The Cavs erased a large deficit, Dean Wade had about as good a 12 minutes as he's likely to ever have in an NBA game and the Kelce brothers were sitting courtside to cheer on their hometown Cavs.
Wade outscored the Celtics by himself in the fourth quarter when he scored 20 points to help lead the Cavs back from a 22-point deficit. Read more about the game here. Wade was injured late in the regular season and the forward was out for the entire first-round series.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cleveland Cavs next game, Playoff schedule vs Celtics, 2024 bracket
