Sunday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Boston Celtics earned one of their most impressive wins of this season. Due to a delayed flight, the visitors arrived at "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World" at about 2 a.m. They were flying from Minnesota, where they had just suffered a 119-115 loss to the Timberwolves in the first half of this back-to-back.
To make matters more difficult, Boston was without two starters against Cleveland. Derrick White is dealing with a right calf contusion. Neemias Queta did not play due to left ankle sprain injury management.
And while the hosts were without Jarrett Allen and, at 12-9, now sit seventh in the East, they're still one of the most talented teams in the conference. Plus, they had homecourt and rest advantages entering Sunday's matchup.
Not a team to indulge in excuses, the Celtics played with energy and competitive fire throughout their 117-115 victory.
From Payton Pritchard's season-high 42-point eruption to the best statistical game of Jordan Walsh's career, contributing 14 points and 11 rebounds, there are countless examples of individuals stepping up in a total team effort to head home with a win.
The Celtics also got a triple-double from Jaylen Brown. The former Finals MVP produced 19 points, a team-high 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, the most of any participant on either side. Within that is the epitome of one of the most meaningful parts of the four-time All-Star's growth.
Joe Mazzulla on Jaylen Brown's evolution
Before getting into Mazzulla's comments, it's worth highlighting Brown's commendable iron man status this season. He is consistently there for his team and has yet to miss one of their 20 tilts.
On Sunday, Brown consistently leveraged the attention he generated to create quality chances for his teammates, like Pritchard. He saw the floor well, made quick decisions, parlayed paint touches into assists, and delivered several dimes.
Count THAT ❗️ pic.twitter.com/FgJr3CxDuc
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 30, 2025
Even with the game on the line in the final stages, the former All-NBA Second Team selection was happy to maintain that approach, rather than forcing shots.
"To me, it's having a great balance of understanding when it's his time versus when it's time to make a play," said Joe Mazzulla after the win, via the NBC Sports Boston post-game show. "And I think that's been a huge growth of his, not just this year, but I think in the past as well. And that's what you want out of your best players. I think he takes just as much pride in watching someone else close the game as he does in closing it himself, and you kind of saw those plays that he was able to make throughout the game."