Key Moment
The Celtics and Cavaliers went down to the wire in each of their first two matchups this season, winning one game apiece in Cleveland, both in thrilling fashion.
Matchup No. 3, however, played out much differently, and it played out in Boston’s favor.
The Celtics were in control for most of Wednesday night's game, beginning at the start of the second quarter when they took off on a 10-0 run.
Boston entered the second frame with a 31-26 advantage, which, in a matter of two minutes, turned into a 15-point lead thanks to Payton Pritchard and Robert Williams.
Pritchard started off the run with a 3-pointer on Boston’s first possession of the quarter. Dennis Schroder earned his way to the free-throw line on the next trip up the floor and sunk 1-of-2 to put the C’s up by nine.
Robert Williams then had an alley-oop attempt blocked, but he made up for the miss by collecting his own rebound and laying the ball up and in. Pritchard then drove in for a finger roll layup before Williams finished off the run with his second put-back layup in a 48-second span.
At that point, the Celtics were up 41-26 with just two minutes gone in the second quarter. And they just kept rising from there. Boston went up by as many as 23 points in the third quarter before coasting to a 111-101 victory at TD Garden.
Key Player
Heading into this week, Jaylen Brown hadn’t logged a 30-point game since October 30. Now, he’s logged 30-point efforts in back-to-back games.
On Monday night, he poured in 30 points in a 108-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. And on Wednesday night, he erupted for 34 points in a 111-101 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brown hadn’t fully been himself since straining his left hamstring on Nov. 4, but now he appears to be getting back into the swing of things.
"I’m just trying to keep building steam, keep adding value to our team, and showing that we can win games,” he said after the game.
The All-Star wing didn't take long to build up steam, as he scored 16 points during the first quarter alone.
Throughout the night, he shot 12-of-22 from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range, and sunk all five of his free-throw attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds, dished out six assists, snagged one steal and blocked one shot during his 36 minutes of action.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jaylen Brown led the game in scoring with 34 points.
- Rob Williams poured in a career-high 21 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field.
- Williams also notched team-highs of 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked shots.
- Darius Garlend led Cleveland in scoring with 28 points.
- Garland was the only Cavs starter who reached double figures in scoring.
- The Celtics coralled 12 offensive rebounds and had 21 second-chance points.
- Romeo Langford grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in a starting role.
- Tacko Fall recorded seven points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in his first career start.
- The Celtics led by as many as 23 points.
- Joe Johnson logged his first NBA points in nearly three years, knocking down his only shot attempt of the game.
Quote of the Night
Jaylen Brown on the recent additions of veterans Joe Johnson and C.J. Miles