Jaylen Brown collected 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Boston Celtics built a 26-point lead on their way to a 109-98 victory over the host Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon.
Jayson Tatum had 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting for the Celtics, who are second in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons. It was the six-time All-Star’s second game back after tearing his right Achilles in May during the 2025 playoffs.
Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 30 points and Evan Mobley had 24 points and eight rebounds for fourth-place Cleveland. The Cavaliers had their season-high home winning streak snapped at seven and are 22-9 since Dec. 29.
Boston received big games off the bench from Payton Pritchard, who had 18 points and seven assists and Baylor Scheierman, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Sam Hauser scored 15 points on five 3-pointers.
Cleveland trailed 81-55 in the third quarter, but pulled within eight points midway through the fourth at 94-86 on a Jaylon Tyson 3-pointer. James Harden had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Mobley scored seven points as the Cavaliers jumped in front 11-3, but Tatum erupted for 12 points in the next seven minutes to give Boston a 35-26 advantage after one.
The Celtics played their first game without center Nikola Vucevic, who had surgery to repair a fractured right ring finger Saturday and won’t be re-evaluated until early April. He was acquired from the Chicago Bulls on Feb. 5.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen did not play with a sore right knee and rookie guard Tyrese Proctor sat out with a right quadriceps strain.
Boston began a three-game road trip against title aspirants that continues against the San Antonio Spurs and defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
