Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 42 points and Jaylen Brown collected his fourth career triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, allowing the visiting Boston Celtics to edge the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-115 on Sunday.
Cleveland trailed 110-99 with 1:49 remaining but had an opportunity to win it at the buzzer on Evan Mobley’s off-target jump shot. Darius Garland pulled the Cavaliers within 116-115 with 1.2 seconds left before Brown split two free throws with 0.6 on the clock.
Anfernee Simons added 18 points off the bench and Jordan Walsh posted career bests with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, who built a 21-point lead before Cleveland mounted its unsuccessful comeback.
Mobley scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half and had 14 rebounds. Garland had 21 points and eight assists, while Donovan Mitchell also made a run at a triple-double with 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Cavaliers.
Pritchard made 15 of 22 field goal attempts, including six 3-pointers, and 6 of 6 from the foul line. It was Brown’s first triple-double since Jan. 21, 2024 at the Houston Rockets.
Cleveland has lost three straight and four of its last six games.
The Celtics took command midway through the third, using a 21-6 run featuring four baskets from Pritchard and capped by his 32-footer to take the largest lead of the night at 86-65.
Pritchard scored 18 points and Simons had 16 in the first half, giving Boston a 58-51 lead at intermission. Brown collected nine points, nine boards and six assists, while Mobley paced the Cavaliers with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Celtics sprinted ahead 13-2 with Pritchard scoring eight points in the first two minutes. Pritchard finished the quarter with 10 points and Brown compiled five points and seven rebounds as Boston held a 28-26 advantage.
Celtics center Neemias Queta (left ankle sprain), who had 19 points and a career-best 18 rebounds Saturday in a loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves, and shooting guard Derrick White (right calf bruise) were held out of the second half of the back-to-back set.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (right finger sprain) re-injured his ailing hand Friday in a loss at the Atlanta Hawks and will miss at least a week. Power forward Larry Nance Jr. (right calf strain) was also hurt in the game and could be sidelined for a month.
Cleveland also was without top perimeter shooter Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), who last played on Nov. 17, and point guard Lonzo Ball (rest).
