The Celtics aren’t spectacular. That’s just the way they like it.

The Celtics fittingly snapped the Cavaliers’ undefeated start to the NBA season with a three-point barrage — but don’t call it a statement win.

TD GARDEN — Joe Mazzulla wasn’t going to overplay the significance of the Celtics’ 120-117 win over the previously undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers.

“To me, I care more about, can we do it again in 72 hours?” said the perennially stoic head coach, referencing the team’s upcoming matchup with the 2-11 Washington Wizards.

Still, Tuesday’s matchup was as big of an NBA game as you’ll find in November: the defending champs squaring up against a 15-0 squad. A playoff rematch. An NBA Cup game on national television in front of one of the most boisterous crowds in basketball.

So, before tip-off, the Cavs weren’t shy about leaning into the hype.

“What a great game,” said Cleveland head coach Kenny Atkinson in his pregame press conference. “Great for the NBA. Great for our organization. Boston Garden. What’s better than that?”

On the flip side, Mazzulla, when asked about why the NBA Cup matters, initially recoiled, then asked: “Who said that?”

But, as much as they chose to downplay it, the Celtics came storming out of the gates, showcasing an irrefutably higher level of intensity than they have displayed in the past few games, against lower-seeded opponents. They opened up a double-digit lead and led by as many as 21 points in the third.

The final score ended up being a lot closer than that — in part due to a letdown third quarter that saw backup big man Neemias Queta get relentlessly hunted on defense (Mazzulla later implied he wanted to see Queta work through his struggles in real-time). Plus, the second half highlighted what we already knew: the Cavs are a really good basketball team.

Still, despite the hiccup, the defending champs unsurprisingly became the first NBA team to snap the Cavs’ historic 15-0 streak to start the year. Jayson Tatum (33 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists) continued his MVP-caliber start to the season. Al Horford (20 points, 3 blocks) and Derrick White (19 points, 5 assists) were their usual reliable selves. Jaylen Brown made a string of massive plays at the end of the fourth, while Payton Pritchard padded his Sixth Man of the Year campaign with an efficient 13 points off the bench.

The victory propelled the Celtics’ record to 12-3 — good for second-best in the league, and identical to last year’s start.

Inside the Celtics’ dominant start to the NBA season

This season — for all the buzz about the team’s defensive regression and rim protection issues — they’re still outscoring opponents by 9.7 points per game, the third-highest point differential among NBA teams.

While Boston has suffered a few letdown losses — most notably, a last-second defeat to the shorthanded Atlanta Hawks in their first NBA Cup game last week — their three losses have been by a combined 10 points. Even without All-Star center Kristaps Porzingis, they boast the second-best offense in the league.

No matter how you slice it, the Celtics have been predictably dominant in the early days of the 2024-25 NBA season.

And, the pundits are bored. It’s no secret that the broader basketball world has increasingly decried both the Celtics’ style of play — and their stars — as monotonous.

But, are the Celtics boring?

If you’re looking for off-court controversy or drama, it’s probably a yes.

Off the court, superstar Jayson Tatum is as even-keeled as it gets, typically pretty monotone after both wins and losses. Joe Mazzulla will never outwardly criticize one of his players, no matter how much reporters might try to bait him (and while that’s probably good for locker room morale, Nuggets coach Michael Malone roasting his players’ effort makes for a much more interesting ESPN headline).

The players on the roster are as PR-trained as you’ll find. Save for the occasional Jaylen Brown zinger, media availability centers around the players lauding one another and stressing the importance of dominating the margins. We hear a whole lot about attacking mismatches and making the right reads — and not so much about any off-court storyline.

And, on the court, their analytics-driven style of play has been perceived as boring too: the Celtics play to the math by prioritizing threes and open layups.

Jayson Tatum described the Celtics’ approach matter-of-factly after the Cavs win.

“We just do the simple things, the right reads, all the time, or most of the time,” said the five-time All-Star. “Whether it’s a Cup game, a regular season game, or the Finals, we know where each other is supposed to be, we work on reads all the time in practice, and regardless of how the game is going, or shots are falling — it’s all about making the right reads. The game will reward that.”

Oftentimes, the Celtics’ correct read is … a three-point shot

At this point, it’s no secret that at their best, the Celtics are a three-point juggernaut. Their shooting prowess was on display on Tuesday night against the Cavs, when they hit 53.7% of their three-point attempts, including a scorching 9 of 11 in the third quarter.

This season, the Celtics have made 287 three-pointers. Per ESPN, that’s the most three-pointers made by any team over any 15-game stretch in NBA history.

This season, the charge has been led by the role players. Three Celtics are currently shooting career-best marks from beyond the arc: Al Horford (47.7%), Payton Pritchard (41.9%), and Derrick White (41.3%). Jayson Tatum, whose outside shot had become a hot topic during the Olympics, is making and attempting more three-pointers than ever before, converting 4.3 a night on 39.4% shooting.

All of those guys stepped up in Tuesday’s marquee win: Horford hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc, Tatum 6 of 10, White 4 of 7, and Pritchard 3 of 6.

The three-point-heavy offense has drawn criticism for its homogeneity, with pundits lamenting the fact that other NBA teams have seemingly begun to mirror it.

The Celtics lead the league in three-point attempts per game (50.5) by a wide margin. And, fittingly, the Charlotte Hornets are second in attempts with 44.6 per night. It’s no surprise they’re near the top; new head coach Charles Lee was the lead assistant on the Celtics’ championship squad last season, and it’s clear that the Hornet’s offense is modeled after Boston’s at least in part.

On Tuesday, when the Celtics saw their double-digit dwindle, there was no sense of panic. The Celtics buckled down defensively, leveraging their collection of All-Defensive team talent and versatile defenders. They made easy passes and exploited mismatches.

“We don’t do anything spectacular,” Tatum said.

“We just locked in on defense. We’ve been in that situation a million times — where it’s time to win, it’s time to lock in, guard your yard, help each other on defense, get a stop, go down on offense, and find out who we’re trying to attack, where we need to put guys at — and make the right play.”

It’s not incredibly exciting when described in that fashion, but Tatum has no issue with plainly laying out the key to the Celtics’ success thus far.

“We just do the simple things really well, really often,” Tatum said.

Al Horford, who recorded a season-high in points and blocks on Tuesday night, wasn’t going to make any statement about the victory being any sort of signal-sender.

“It’s about us — it’s not about anything, it’s not about ‘to prove to the league’, anyone or anything. It’s a long season, and we just continue to make strides to be better,” Horford said. “We’re getting better — we’re not where we want to be — but we continue to work towards that.”

Love it or hate it, the Celtics’ business-minded approach has worked. It’s how they secured their 18th championship last season after one of the most dominant playoff runs we’ve seen in recent years.

And, on Tuesday night, they snapped the Cav’s incredible win streak with the same formula.