Jayson Tatum goes cold after hot start, but Celtics stifle Cavaliers in his second game back from Achilles injury
· Yahoo Sports
Jayson Tatum went cold after a hot start on Sunday in his second game back from Achilles tendon tear.
But it didn't matter for the Boston Celtics, who stifled the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road en route to a 109-98 win. Tatum found his form again late in the fourth quarter to help fend off a Cleveland in what added up another encouraging effort in his return from injury.
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Tatum went 4 of 6 from the field in a 12-point first quarter as the Celtics opened up a 35-26 lead. He missed seven straight field goals from there and didn't hit another until the final four minutes of the fourth.
But the Cavaliers went even colder against a stifling Celtics defense in a stagnant second quarter that allowed the Celtics to extend their lead. The Cavaliers scored just 10 points in the second while shooting 4 of 25 from the field and missing all 14 of their 3-point attempts.
The Celtics eventually extended their lead to 26 points, a deficit that proved too big for the Cavaliers to overcome.
Cleveland cut the Boston lead 98-90 midway through the fourth. But the Celtics fended off the run, thanks in part to a pair of late Tatum buckets. Tatum hit a layup to extend Boston's lead to 104-90 in the final four minutes, his first made field goal since his 4-of-6 start. He then hit a 3 with 1:59 remaining for a 107-95 lead that further stifled Cleveland's comeback effort.
What goes up 🎯 pic.twitter.com/TNLwVXlUJC
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 8, 2026
Tatum finished with 20 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 6 of 16 from the field and 2 of 9 from 3. While it wasn't efficient, it was another encouraging effort from Tatum in his second game back from a ruptured Achilles tendon that he sustained in the playoffs last season. And it puts the rest of the NBA on further notice that Boston's All-NBA star is rounding into form as the playoffs approach.