Jaylen Brown leads Celtics comeback; Cavs, Pelicans also win

BOSTON — Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics past the Indiana Pacers 103–95 Monday night, capping a comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit.

Indiana built a 61–41 lead with 1:22 left in the first half, hitting 12 of their first 30 3-point attempts and entering the third quarter ahead 61–43. But Boston held Indiana to just 34 second-half points — only 13 in the final quarter — and took its first lead on a Brown reverse layup with 7:19 to play.

Derrick White added 19 points for Boston, and rookie Hugo Gonzalez pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Celtics also outscored Indiana 52–28 in the paint.

With the score tied at 91, the Celtics closed the game on a 10–0 run, sealed by a White driving layup with 41.7 seconds left. The Pacers missed 19 of their 20 3-point attempts in the second half.

Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 25 points, Andrew Nembhard scored 20, and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Celtics forward Jordan Walsh missed the game due to illness. He is averaging 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game this season.

The two teams will meet again Friday in Indiana.

In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell poured in 30 points, while Darius Garland and De’Andre Hunter each added 27 to help the Cleveland Cavaliers defeat the Charlotte Hornets 139–132, ending a three-game losing streak.

Dean Wade chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs. Garland also recorded 10 assists. Cleveland shot 55.2% from the field, 54.5% from 3-point range, and a perfect 19-of-19 from the free-throw line.

Mitchell, returning after missing one game due to illness, had 18 points in the first half. Cleveland led 70–63 at halftime after Mitchell drilled a buzzer-beating triple.

LaMelo Ball led Charlotte with 23 points and nine assists. Rookie Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller each added 20 points. Moussa Diabate finished with five points, a season-high 14 rebounds, and a career-best six steals.

Hunter extended Cleveland’s lead to 98–85 late in the third after being fouled by Diabate. Despite taking an elbow to the nose, he stayed in the game and made both free throws, then followed up with a 3-pointer.

Garland scored eight points in the game’s first two minutes. The Hornets led 36–33 after the first quarter, with Ball and Knueppel each scoring 15 in the first half.

Cleveland played nearly at full strength, with only Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley (strained left calf) missing. Charlotte was without rookie center Ryan Kalkbrenner (elbow sprain) and shooting guard Collin Sexton (quad strain), who has now missed seven games.

In New Orleans, Zion Williamson delivered 24 points and nine rebounds off the bench, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 119–113 comeback victory over the Dallas Mavericks and extending their winning streak to five games — their longest since March 2023.

Derik Queen added 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Saddiq Bey scored 19. Jordan Poole contributed 14 points, and Jeremiah Fears added 12. Trey Murphy III tallied 11 points and four steals as New Orleans outscored Dallas 40–26 in the fourth quarter.

Anthony Davis paced the Mavericks with 35 points and 17 rebounds. Klay Thompson had 20 points, Cooper Flagg scored 16, and Naji Marshall added 15.

Dallas built a 63–54 halftime lead, which grew to 10 points early in the third quarter after Davis’ dunk. But Jose Alvarado hit back-to-back 3s to cut the margin to four with under two minutes left in the third.

Dallas took an 87–79 lead into the fourth, but New Orleans tied the game 98–98 on a Poole 3-pointer. After Cooper Flagg’s free throw made it 103–103, Williamson erupted for six points during a 10–0 Pelicans run, capped by a layup and two free throws to push the lead to 113–103 with 1:37 remaining.

Earlier, Herb Jones’ jumper and Queen’s reverse layup gave New Orleans a 22–11 lead midway through the first. The Mavericks closed the gap and took their first two-possession lead at 54–50 on a Daniel Gafford dunk late in the second.

Williamson’s dunk with 4.7 seconds left cut the deficit to 63–57 at halftime, setting the stage for the Pelicans’ dominant fourth-quarter finish.