The 2023-24 Celtics made a habit of bludgeoning teams as they breezed to the top of the NBA standings.

Of their league-best 64 regular-season wins, 42 were by double digits, and 19 of those were by 20-plus. They won by 30 or more three times and 50 or more three times. Boston’s net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) was tied for third-best in NBA history, trailing only two peak Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls squads.

That trend continued in the opening round of the playoffs, with the Celtics’ four victories over the Miami Heat coming by 20, 20, 14 and 24 points.

Unsurprisingly, the Celtics are heavy favorites in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, which tips off Tuesday night at TD Garden. But their opponent is a team they were unable to blow out during the regular season: the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs, who took down Orlando in seven games to advance to the East semis, were competitive in each of its three meetings with the powerhouse C’s.

They held a fourth-quarter lead at TD Garden before losing 120-113 on Dec. 12. Two days later, they trailed by five with three minutes remaining in an eventual 116-107 road loss. And in the Celtics’ lone visit to Cleveland, the Cavs got 20 fourth-quarter points from anonymous reserve Dean Wade to overcome a 22-point deficit and win 105-104.

“They just keep competing,” Celtics guard Derrick White said after Monday’s practice at the Auerbach Center. “We learned that first-hand when we played them in the regular season. They never give up, they’re always competing, and it’s going to be a fun challenge.”

Cleveland showed that same tenacity in Sunday’s first-round clincher. After squandering a 2-0 series lead and allowing the Magic to force a Game 7, the Cavs fell into an 18-point first-half hole before rallying.

All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell scored 39 points — two days after dropping 50 in a Game 6 loss — to power his team to a 106-94 win and book a trip to Boston.

Containing Mitchell, who’s now healthy after injuries limited him to 55 regular-season games, will be the top priority for the Celtics defensively.

“The challenges (in defending Mitchell) are you have to be able to live with something, and you have to be able to take away something,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “So you saw in Game 6 it was a 50-point performance in a loss and you saw in Game 7 that he had 30, 10, and something in a win.

“So you have to pick your poison. It’s got to be disciplined. But again, when you’re playing against guys like him and a team that has dynamic guards (Mitchell and point guard Darius Garland) it usually comes down to the other things.”

Among those other things: the rangy frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, whose length could cause problems for a Celtics team that likely will be without starting big man Kristaps Porzingis (calf strain) for the entire second round.

The 22-year-old Mobley, a finalist for NBA Defensive Player of the Year last season, had a game-saving last-second block in Game 5 of the Orlando series. He also blocked five shots in Game 6 and five more in Game 7.

“I think he’s a good, young defender,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “Kind of similar to how Bam (Adebayo) is in Miami: athletic, good feet, makes the right reads. So just be aggressive, make the right play, and the game will tell you what to do.”

Allen was Cleveland’s leading rebounder during the regular season (10.5 per game), and his availability will be an important storyline after the 26-year-old missed the last three games with bruised ribs.

Latest on Porzingis

Porzingis on Saturday said he was “not super close” to returning from his injury, which he suffered in Game 4 against Miami. He reportedly is not expected to return until the Eastern Conference finals at the earliest.

Mazzulla did not offer any definitive update on Porzingis’ timeline but said he’s seen positive progress in his recovery.

“He seemed to be walking a little bit better,” Mazzulla said. “And the thing about KP is, man, he puts the time in. So, a guy like him, every single day, he knows exactly what he has to do, he always puts the work in to be ready, whether he’s playing or whether he’s coming back from an injury. I just saw him walking a little bit better. But I trust his work ethic and I know he’s doing everything he can to get back as fast as he can.”

Expect Al Horford to start in place of Porzingis on Tuesday night, with Luke Kornet likely serving as his primary backup.