NBA champion Celtics take Round 1 and end Cavaliers' perfect season after 15 straight wins

BOSTON (AP) — This one wasn’t about their perfect season or a 15-game winning streak or even the NBA Cup.

This was a chance for the undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers to see where they stood against the defending champions.

“This was a great test for us, and unfortunately we didn’t get the win,” said Donovan Mitchell, whose 35 points couldn’t prevent the Cavaliers from picking up their first loss of the season, 120-117 to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

“It’s definitely a measuring stick,” said Mitchell, who scored 18 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 straight Cleveland points in the final four minutes. You want to see where you’re at, but not hold too much weight on it. ... We’re not going to be the same team now that we are in April."

The Celtics won an unprecedented 18th championship last spring -- rolling over the Cavaliers in five games in the Eastern Conference semis – and entered the season as the favorites to repeat, or at least make it back to the NBA Finals. Cleveland, which won a playoff series last year for the first time since LeBron James left the second time in 2018, wasn’t expected to be a contender.

But it was the Cavaliers who shot to the top of the standings this fall, with a franchise-record 15-game winning streak that left them as the last unbeaten team in the league. Coach Kenny Atkinson was the first NBA coach ever to win his first 15 games with a new team.

“You want to be a part of history in that regard. But it’s a thing of the past. It’s over with. And, you know, it was a good run,” Mitchell said. “It was fun. When you’re playing basketball, good basketball, and obviously winning games -- whether it’s blowouts, close games, come-from-behind wins -- you enjoy these moments.

“It’s great to be part of history. We wish we had kept it going,” he said. "But, like I said, there’s no championships in November.”

The Celtics used a 3-point barrage on Tuesday night to open a 21-point lead, then watched as the Cavs cut it to two in the third quarter. Cleveland trailed by nine, 114-105, with 90 seconds left before Mitchell hit a floater and then another layup to cut the deficit to five points.

With Boston up 117-110 and 25 seconds left, Mitchell hit a rainbow 3-pointer to make it a four-point game. After Jayson Tatum, who scored 33, hit one of two free throws, the Celtics star bowled Mitchell over while going for a steal.

Mitchell stayed down on the court for a few minutes, but the play was not reviewed to determine if it was a potential flagrant foul that would give the Cavaliers a pair of free throws and the ball.

"I was just praying to God I didn’t have a concussion. That’s my only thing,” said Mitchell, who watched the play again after the game and didn’t think it should have been ruled a flagrant foul. “It was a play on the ball. He’s got bony shoulders. So I hit his shoulder, and it is what it is.”

Atkinson blamed himself for not having an answer for a Celtics team that went 14 for 22 from 3-point range in the first half to open a 17-point lead. And he praised his team, which faced the Celtics without Issac Okoro (ankle), Caris LeVert (knee) and DeanWade (ankle), for erasing almost all of that deficit in the third quarter.

"They shot the heck out of it," Atkinson said. “That big second quarter, that was too much to overcome. Second half, we turned it up, but it’s kind of too late.”

And the coach was already looking to their next matchup, in Cleveland on Dec. 1.

“They’re so good. We gave resistance in the second half, but ... a lot of stuff we can improve on,” he said. “We’ll have another shot at them soon."

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) sets to drive against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) battles for a rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) fouls Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) on a drive to the basket during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, center, tries to drive between Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) and center Neemias Queta (88) during the first half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome (2) argues a call during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. The Cavaliers, who were undefeated this season, lost to the Celtics 120-117. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell drops to the floor after colliding with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, rear, collides with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome, left, tries to put up a shot against Boston Celtics center Al Horford, right, during the second half of an Emirates NBA Cup basketball game, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult.

The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The opposition party says it would have done the same after winning elections due within months if the government hadn’t moved first.

The leaders of all eight Australian states and mainland territories have unanimously backed the plan, although Tasmania, the smallest state, would have preferred the threshold was set at 14.

But a vocal assortment of experts in the fields of technology and child welfare have responded with alarm. More than 140 such experts signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the 16-year age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.”

Details of what is proposed and how it will be implemented are scant. More will be known when legislation is introduced into the Parliament next week.

Leo Puglisi, a 17-year-old Melbourne student who founded online streaming service 6 News Australia at the age of 11, laments that lawmakers imposing the ban lack the perspective on social media that young people have gained by growing up in the digital age.

“With respect to the government and prime minister, they didn’t grow up in the social media age, they’re not growing up in the social media age, and what a lot of people are failing to understand here is that, like it or not, social media is a part of people’s daily lives,” Leo said.

“It’s part of their communities, it’s part of work, it’s part of entertainment, it’s where they watch content – young people aren’t listening to the radio or reading newspapers or watching free-to-air TV – and so it can’t be ignored. The reality is this ban, if implemented, is just kicking the can down the road for when a young person goes on social media,” Leo added.

Leo has been applauded for his work online. He was a finalist in his home state Victoria's nomination for the Young Australian of the Year award, which will be announced in January. His nomination bid credits his platform with “fostering a new generation of informed, critical thinkers.”

One of the proposal's supporters, cyber safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, knows from personal tragedy how dangerous social media can be for children.

Her 15-year-old daughter Carly Ryan was murdered in 2007 in South Australia state by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online. In a grim milestone of the digital age, Carly was the first person in Australia to be killed by an online predator.

“Kids are being exposed to harmful pornography, they’re being fed misinformation, there are body image issues, there’s sextortion, online predators, bullying. There are so many different harms for them to try and manage and kids just don’t have the skills or the life experience to be able to manage those well,” Sonya Ryan said.

“The result of that is we’re losing our kids. Not only what happened to Carly, predatory behavior, but also we’re seeing an alarming rise in suicide of young people,” she added.

Sonya Ryan is part of a group advising the government on a national strategy to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in Australia.

She wholeheartedly supports Australia setting the social media age limit at 16.

“We’re not going to get this perfect,” she said. “We have to make sure that there are mechanisms in place to deal with what we already have which is an anxious generation and an addicted generation of children to social media."

A major concern for social media users of all ages is the legislation’s potential privacy implications.

Age estimation technology has proved inaccurate, so digital identification appears to be the most likely option for assuring a user is at least 16.

Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University, fears that the government will make the platforms hold the users’ identification data.

The government has already said the onus will be on the platforms, rather than on children or their parents, to ensure everyone meets the age limit.

“The worst possible outcome seems to be the one that the government may be inadvertently pushing towards, which would be that the social media platforms themselves would end up being the identity arbiter,” Leaver said.

“They would be the holder of identity documents which would be absolutely terrible because they have a fairly poor track record so far of holding on to personal data well,” he added.

The platforms will have a year once the legislation has become law to work out how the ban can be implemented.

Ryan, who divides her time between Adelaide in South Australia and Fort Worth, Texas, said privacy concerns should not stand in the way of removing children from social media.

“What is the cost if we don’t? If we don’t put the safety of our children ahead of profit and privacy?” she asked.

This version removes incorrect information that the eSafety Commissioner proposed adopting the role of “authenticator” of people’s ages. The commissioner’s office says it never proposed such a role..

Online safety advocate Sonya Ryan attends a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on June 15, 2021. Ryan knows from personal tragedy how dangerous social media can be for children. (Mick Tsikas/AAP Image via AP)

In this image made from video released by Leo Puglisi, 17-year-old Leo Puglisi records his online streaming news service 6 News Australia, from Melbourne, Australia in January 2024. (Leo Puglisi via AP)