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Key Moment
The Cleveland Cavaliers scored on the very first possession of Sunday’s matchup against the Boston Celtics for an early 2-0 lead at TD Garden. And it would be the only lead they’d see all night long, before suffering a beatdown from the C’s.
After Andre Drummond’s game-opening layup, Boston went on to score the game's next 11 points to take an 11-2 lead. Cleveland would never pull within two possessions from that point forward.
The Celtics went on to produce their highest-scoring first quarter of the season, taking a 38-21 advantage after the first 12 minutes of action. The most impressive part about that feat was the fact that Cleveland entered the night with the best defensive rating in the entire Eastern Conference.
Such didn’t appear to be the case, however, as the Celtics went on to score 35 in the second quarter and 41 in the third quarter, before taking their starters out and coasting to a 141-103 victory.
Key Player
Thirty-three points. Nineteen minutes.
That was Jaylen Brown’s history-making stat line Sunday night, as he became the first NBA player ever to score more than 30 points while playing fewer than 20 minutes in a game.
Brown knocked down 13 of his 20 field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while also shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
He added three rebounds, two steals and one assist in the effort, which also included just one turnover.
Box Score Nuggets
- Boston's 141 points represented a new season-high.
- Jaylen Brown logged a game-high 33 points in just 19 minutes.
- Brown became the first player in NBA history to score more than 30 points in less than 20 minutes.
- All five Celtics starters logged at least a plus-30 plus/minus rating.
- Boston shot 50 percent (14-28) from beyond the 3-point arc.
- The Celtics had a 55-34 advantage on the boards.
- Tristan Thompson led the game in rebounds with 12.
- Marcus Smart logged game-highs of nine assists and five steals.
- The Celtics led by as many as 41 points.
- Rob Williams recorded a game-high three blocked shots in less than 15 minutes.
- Carsen Edwards tied his career-high with 18 points.
Quote of the Night
Marcus Smart on Boston's defensive effort