Isaiah comes up clutch, Deron misses go-ahead 3 in wild Celtics-Cavs finish

The Boston Celtics picked up their first win of the season over the team they're chasing for Eastern Conference supremacy, outlasting the Cleveland Cavaliers in a thriller Wednesday night.

Unlike so many of their down-to-the-wire wins this season, it wasn't Isaiah Thomas doing the bulk of the fourth-quarter scoring, though he used the extra attention he received from the Cavs to set up his teammates. When it came to shotmaking, the Celtics took turns hitting clutch threes, with Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko, and Jaylen Brown all chipping in.

In the end, though, Thomas - who had just one fourth-quarter point and no made field goals until the final minute - did it himself. With the Celtics trailing by one, he pulled up from 29 feet out and drilled the go-ahead triple.

Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving came back with an equally impressive bucket - a ridiculous reverse layup - to tie things up with 38 seconds to play.

But Thomas drew a shooting foul on the following possession and calmly sank both free throws, giving the Cavs the ball back with 28 seconds on the clock and a two-point deficit.

After Bradley forced a contested miss from Irving with some tenacious on-ball defense, and LeBron James passed up a 3-point look off the offensive rebound in favor of a better look from the corner, the ball wound up in the hands of Deron Williams.

Williams was playing his first game since clearing waivers and being signed by Cleveland this week. It was he who'd fouled Thomas on the previous possession to surrender the go-ahead free throws, but if he wanted to play hero in his Cavs debut, he couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. Alas, it wasn't to be, as his three-ball rimmed out.

Crowder iced the victory with free throws, and the Celtics moved within three games of the Cavs for top spot in the East.