Top takeaways From Cleveland Cavaliers' preseason loss to Boston Celtics

You hate it when a plan just can't come together.

The first ugly preseason loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers ended in a 138-107 defeat to the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Cavs fell to 0-3 before wrapping up their preseason schedule with a home bout against the Detroit Pistons.

Even with seemingly all the second chances in the world, Cleveland ended its outing at TD Garden with a clip of just above 35% from the floor, its lowest of the preseason, as it was outscored in every quarter.

Five Cavaliers still barely ended the night in double-digits, including a pair of new additions in Larry Nance Jr. and Thomas Bryant. Jaylon Tyson led the Cavs with 16 points while tacking on five rebounds and four assists. The second-year wing showed some consistency, but still ended the game with six made shots on 14 tries from the floor.

Tyrese Proctor Shows Some Promise

It's clear Tyrese Proctor's confidence can make some kind of difference early in his NBA career.

The second-round guard has shown nothing less than a sizable amount of confidence, especially from the perimeter, over the course of this year's preseason run. He fired up a handful of pull-up and step-back jumpers over his last few games, including in his performance in Sunday's loss, where he made two shots on nine tries from the arc.

Proctor's playmaking still showed signs of life with four assists as he connected on more routine perimeter passes.

While confidence can get you anywhere, it'll take reflecting his near-perfect game from last week to keep justifying some of his more confident tries instead of the seven makes on 21 shots over his last two games.

Perimeter Shooting Takes a Hit

Oct. 12, 2025; Cleveland Cavaliers v. Boston Celtics. — Oct 12, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center Dean Wade (32) attempts a basket against Boston Celtics forward Xavier Tillman (26) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The Cavs as a whole made 12 of their 60 tries from the 3-point line, including one make on 14 shots in the first quarter.

Proctor would make Cleveland's only long-range shot in the first, a quick strike from the corner off a pass from Tyson. Led by guard Anfernee Simons, the Celtics would respond with 18 scores on 45 shots. Simons was nearly unstoppable from above the break as he made his first three shots in a row.

The Cavs couldn't overcome an incredibly slow start from the court, but showed some signs of life as they started to close the game out in the fourth. One of the league's top offenses last season will have time to recover when they take on the Pistons at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Rocket Arena. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.