Payton Pritchard Erupts for 42, Jaylen Brown Notches Triple-Double as Celtics Edge Cavs in Thriller
CLEVELAND - In a game that had all the makings of a blowout before morphing into a nail-biter, the Boston Celtics leaned on Payton Pritchard’s career night and Jaylen Brown’s all-around brilliance to escape Cleveland with a 117-115 win over the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Let’s start with Pritchard, who didn’t just step up - he exploded.
With Derrick White sidelined due to a right calf contusion, Boston needed someone to fill the scoring void. Pritchard answered that call and then some, dropping a season-high 42 points in a performance that was equal parts efficient, fearless, and clutch.
From the opening tip, he was locked in. On the Celtics’ first possession, Cleveland left him wide open on the wing - mistake.
He buried the three. Less than two minutes later, he had eight points and Boston was off to the races.
But this wasn’t just a hot start that fizzled out. Pritchard kept his foot on the gas all night, navigating foul trouble in the second quarter with poise and continuing to pour in points when it mattered most.
Even after picking up his third foul midway through the second, head coach Joe Mazzulla kept him on the floor - a trust move that paid off. Pritchard responded with eight more points before halftime, finishing the first half with 18.
Then came the second half, where Pritchard’s shot-making reached another level. He added nine points in the third, and when the Cavaliers cut the lead to single digits in the fourth, it was Pritchard who stepped up with the kind of late-game execution you usually see from seasoned stars.
With under a minute left and Boston clinging to a two-point lead, he calmly drilled a pull-up jumper to make it 114-109. After Cleveland hit a three to close the gap again, Pritchard knocked down two pressure-packed free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining.
Ice in his veins.
It was a career night in every sense - not just for the scoring, but for the timing, the composure, and the leadership.
And while Pritchard was the headliner, Jaylen Brown authored a performance that deserves its own spotlight. The Celtics’ All-Star wing notched his fourth career triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists - a stat line that only tells part of the story.
Brown was everywhere in the second half, especially when the game started to tighten. Midway through the fourth quarter, with the Celtics’ 21-point lead long gone and the momentum swinging toward Cleveland, Brown took over.
He forced the issue, drawing a pair of shooting fouls with aggressive drives, then found Pritchard on back-to-back possessions for key buckets that pushed the lead back to double digits.
That stretch - Brown’s physicality, followed by his vision - gave Boston a 104-93 cushion with just over four minutes to play. It wasn’t quite enough to put the game away, but it gave them just enough breathing room to survive Cleveland’s final push.
The Cavaliers, to their credit, didn’t quit. They erased a 21-point deficit with a mix of timely three-point shooting and defensive pressure, twice pulling within a single possession in the final minute. After Brown split a pair of free throws with less than a second left, Cleveland had one last chance to tie, but Evan Mobley couldn’t get a shot off in time after catching the inbounds pass from Donovan Mitchell.
It was that close.
But in the end, Boston walked away with its fifth straight win, thanks to a breakout night from Pritchard and a do-it-all effort from Brown. With White out and Jayson Tatum relatively quiet by his standards, the Celtics showed once again why their depth and versatility make them one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
Pritchard’s previous season high? 30 points back on November 16 against the Clippers. He blew past that mark on Sunday - and did it when his team needed him most.
This wasn’t just a win. It was a statement.