By Tiffany Williams –
TD Garden waited nearly 10 months to roar again for Jayson Tatum.
It didn’t take long.
The Boston Celtics star finally stepped back onto the parquet Friday night after rupturing his right Achilles tendon last spring, logging 27 minutes in a 120-100 dismantling of the Dallas Mavericks before Boston followed it up Sunday with a 109-98 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena.
Two games back. Two wins. And while the stat lines were modest by Tatum’s standards, the Celtics suddenly look like a team that just got its heartbeat back.
Tatum finished his long-awaited return with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in Boston’s blowout over Dallas, shooting 6-for-16 and knocking down three triples. It wasn’t vintage scoring brilliance, but the rust was obvious and the impact was undeniable.
The Celtics looked energized just having him out there.
Jaylen Brown attacked relentlessly, pouring in 24 points while dishing seven assists. Derrick White added 20 points and two blocks, Payton Pritchard chipped in 18 with six assists, and center Neemias Queta bullied Dallas inside for 16 points and a monstrous 15 rebounds.
Boston pounded the Mavericks where it hurt most — in the paint.
The Celtics scored 52 points inside and dominated the glass 58-45, turning second chances into 21 points and completely overwhelming Dallas physically. Even with Dallas shooting 40 percent from three, Boston simply outworked them everywhere else.
Dallas briefly flirted with control early — leading 17-12 in the first quarter — before Boston detonated in the middle frames. A 37-point second quarter flipped the game, and the Celtics slammed the door with a 32-27 third before turning the fourth into a comfortable cruise.
Boston’s biggest lead ballooned to 25.
Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg had a rough night against Boston’s length, going 7-for-23 and missing all four three-point attempts while finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Klay Thompson led the Mavericks with 19 points in just 18 minutes and shot well, but Dallas never consistently threatened after halftime.
The Celtics had waited nearly a year to get Tatum back.
They weren’t about to let the moment slip.
Two nights later in Cleveland, Boston again leaned on balance and depth while Tatum continued his measured return.
He logged 27 minutes again, scoring 20 points on another 6-for-16 shooting night while grabbing three rebounds and calmly hitting six of seven free throws.
Still not peak Tatum. But clearly moving closer.
Boston exploded out of the gate with a 35-point first quarter and never truly relinquished control, leading for more than 41 minutes of game time. At one point the Celtics stretched the lead to 26, completely suffocating Cleveland’s offense.
Brown again set the tone with 23 points and eight assists while attacking the rim relentlessly. Pritchard added 18 off the bench and Baylor Scheierman erupted for 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, drilling four of six from deep.
Sam Hauser also lit up the Cavaliers, burying five threes for 15 points.
Boston’s bench crushed Cleveland’s second unit 41-13, a lopsided advantage that turned the second half into damage control for the Cavaliers.
Donovan Mitchell did everything he could to keep Cleveland within shouting distance, scoring 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Evan Mobley added 24 points and eight rebounds, while James Harden recorded a 19-point, 10-assist night running the offense.
But Cleveland never solved Boston’s early avalanche.
The Celtics knocked down 15 threes, shot 90.9 percent at the free throw line, and controlled the rebounding battle 49-42. When Cleveland tried to push the pace, Boston calmly slowed the game down and forced them into half-court possessions.
It was clinical.
Two games into Tatum’s comeback, the Celtics are clearly easing their superstar back into full workload territory. He hasn’t dominated yet. He hasn’t taken over games. And he doesn’t need to — not right now.
The scary part for the rest of the Eastern Conference is this:
Boston just beat two playoff-caliber teams by a combined 31 points while their franchise player is still shaking off nearly a year of rust.
If this version of the Celtics is the “warm-up,” the league might not like what comes next.