Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum had to wait almost 300 days to play in an NBA game after rupturing his Achilles in May. So, it's safe to say he's enjoying life on the court, especially since the C's have gone 2-0 since his remarkable return.
On Sunday afternoon, Tatum and company earned a 109-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road. The six-time All-Star finished with 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists in a near wire-to-wire victory. And although Tatum missed seven of his nine attempts from deep, he cashed a wide-open triple with just 1:59 left in the fourth quarter to seal the Celtics' first season sweep of the Cavs since the 2019-2020 campaign.
Celtics up 9 and need to stop the bleeding…who else but Jayson Tatum
He still has some things to work through, but his confidence is there. No hesitation and called for the ball when he saw an opening:
pic.twitter.com/XWtXgHnlyz— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 8, 2026
“I can’t stress it enough, I’m just happy to be out here and playing on the team, with the guys, competing, making plays, making mistakes,” Tatum told ESPN's Jorge Sedano in a postgame interview.
While Tatum continued to acclimate to the pace of the regular season, fellow Celtics star Jaylen Brown recorded a team-high 23 points to go along with nine rebounds and eight assists. Boston's third-leading scorer on the day was point guard Payton Pritchard, who tallied 18 points off the bench while shooting 58.3% from the field.
These were pretty ordinary outings for Brown and Pritchard, so Tatum wasn't surprised by what they were able to do to the contending Cavs.
“They've been playing great all season,” Tatum described of Brown and Pritchard. “It’s been fun to watch from the sideline, and, like I said, I’m happy to be out there making plays with them.”
Jayson Tatum to @Sedano about Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard:
“They've been playing great all season. It’s been fun to watch from the sideline, and, like I said, I’m happy to be out there making plays with them.” pic.twitter.com/eHq3sPwLQP
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) March 8, 2026
With Tatum sidelined, the Celtics managed to go an impressive 41-21 this season. They've now improved to 43-21 overall and are benefitting from his arrival on the court and in the standings, as the Celtics are 2.5 games behind the first-place Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference.
The Pistons do hold the tiebreaker over the Celtics, though. Plus, the C's are about to face arguably the two best teams in the league in consecutive games. They're now in Texas to meet the 47-17 San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night and will have to fly over to Oklahoma shortly after to battle the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday evening.
Regardless of the final scores of those games, Tatum is simply glad to be back doing what he loves.
“Just happy to be out here,” Tatum reiterated with a smile on Sunday.
