Jaylen Brown has 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as Celtics beat Cavaliers 109-98

Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) dribbles beside Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/David Richard)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 23 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 in his second game back from a torn right Achilles, lifting the Boston Celtics to a 109-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders on Sunday afternoon.

Brown also had nine rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics built an 81-55 lead in the third quarter, sweeping their three-game season series with Cleveland. Tatum scored six points in the fourth, finishing 6 of 16 from the field in 27 minutes.

Payton Pritchard added 18 points and Baylor Scheierman had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Boston moved within three games of East-leading Detroit. Neemias Queta grabbed 11 boards.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points and Evan Mobley had 24 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-place Cavaliers, who had won a season-high seven straight at home. James Harden had 19 points and 10 assists.

Cleveland, which is 22-9 since Dec. 29, pulled within 94-86 midway through the fourth on Jaylon Tyson’s 3-pointer. Pritchard answered with a 3-pointer and tacked on back-to-back hoops to restore the Celtics’ double-digit lead.

Tatum scored 14 points in his first 12 minutes, helping Boston take a commanding 48-29 advantage in the second. The Celtics went up 56-35 later in the period on two free throws from Brown, aided by Cleveland shooting 2 of 22 on 3-pointers in the first half.

Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen did not play after injuring his right knee Tuesday against Detroit, but coach Kenny Atkinson said he was “trending better.” Mitchell saw his first action since straining his right groin on Feb. 24.

Boston, which began a three-game road trip, will be without center Nikola Vucevic for at least a month after he underwent surgery on his fractured right ring finger Saturday.

Up next

Celtics: Visit San Antonio on Tuesday.

Cavaliers: Host Philadelphia on Monday.

___

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