BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics haven’t played as well as they’ve expected at times this season.

They’re hoping the games they’ve put together over the last six weeks are a sign of better things to come after the All-Star break.

Jayson Tatum scored 19 points and Gordon Hayward ...

CLEVELAND (AP) — Gordon Hayward finally got some closure at Quicken Loans Arena.

He walked off the floor.

Making his first visit to Cleveland since suffering a horrific broken left ankle in his debut for Boston in 2017, Hayward scored 18 points as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers ...

BOSTON (AP) — With Kyrie Irving again stuck to the sideline, Terry Rozier and his Celtics teammates enjoyed another run as the featured act.

The talented young cast stole the show again.

Rozier had 17 points and 10 assists, Jaylen Brown added 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics blocked out an emotional loss to the Golden State Warriors over the weekend.

They swatted away a franchise record-tying number of shots, too.

Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 21 points, and the Celtics beat Brooklyn 112-104 on Monday night to ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics had a little tuneup before their big mid-winter test.

Terry Rozier scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half and the Celtics coasted to their fifth straight victory with a 123-103 win over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

Now, ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics found a way.

Not bad for the second part of back-to-back games.

Irving scored 32 points and the Celtics rallied to beat the Atlanta Hawks 113-105 on Saturday for their third straight win.

After trailing for most of the night, ...

BOSTON (AP) — Gordon Hayward followed up his top scoring game of the season with his best overall performance since coming to the Boston Celtics.

Gordon Hayward had 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the short-handed Celtics in a 114-93 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday ...

CHICAGO (AP) — The Boston Celtics turned in a record-setting performance in their steady climb in the Eastern Conference.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points off the bench, Daniel Theis added a career-high 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Celtics routed the Chicago Bulls 133-77 on ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics returned from a dreadful road trip with a resounding rout.

Kyrie Irving had 17 points and seven assists and Jaylen Brown scored 18 as Boston beat the Chicago Bulls 111-82 on Wednesday night.

“One of the toughest things to do in this league is to come off a ...

PHOENIX (AP) — When their shots finally started to fall, the Boston Celtics couldn’t be stopped.

Kyrie Irving scored 18 of his season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and Boston rallied from a 22-point deficit for a 116-109 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday ...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Victor Oladipo heard the final buzzer and pranced to the sideline, pointing both index fingers to the floor, and mouthing, “My city.”

Oladipo’s 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds remaining Saturday night gave Indiana a 102-101 comeback victory over the Boston Celtics and was ...

BOSTON (AP) — After averaging 14 points through the first six games, Kyrie Irving knew he was due to start hitting some shots.

Irving broke through Tuesday night with a season-high 31 points and led a third-quarter surge that put Boston in command of a 108-105 win over Detroit, handing the ...

DETROIT (AP) — With Jaylen Brown struggling offensive so far this season, Brad Stevens still asked him if he wanted a shot at defending one of the NBA’s hottest players.

Not only did Brown slow down the much bigger Blake Griffin, his offense also perked up in the process.

Brown ...

DETROIT (AP) — With Jaylen Brown struggling offensive so far this season, Brad Stevens still asked him if he wanted a shot at defending one of the NBA’s hottest players.

Not only did Brown slow down the much bigger Blake Griffin, his offense also perked up in the process.

Brown ...

BOSTON (AP) — The band is back together in Boston.

Or, at least, it’s healthy again.

Hopes were high for the Celtics going into last season thanks to a revamped roster that included All-Star additions Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

Everything changed five minutes into the ...

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — Danny Ainge tore apart the team that made the Eastern Conference finals last year, and then put together a new roster that came one victory from playing for an NBA title.

This summer may present him with an even bigger challenge: standing pat.

With Gordon ...

BOSTON (AP) — Boston’s Marcus Morris and Cleveland’s Larry Nance Jr. had to be pulled apart in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday night after a hard defensive play by Morris sent Nance to the floor.

Morris and Nance both went up for a pass, and the Cavaliers forward wound up ...

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Celtics were loose, smiling and laughing. They weren’t straining to hear each other speak and there were no obnoxious Cleveland fans heckling them.

All was quiet as Boston worked out Sunday.

Practice isn’t an issue on the road in the postseason. Playing games is ...

CLEVELAND (AP) — J.R. Smith reached out, placed his hands on Al Horford’s back and shoved Boston’s big man out of bounds.

It was the only time Smith was on target.

Smith’s shoddy performance in Game 2 — he missed all seven shots and committed a flagrant 1 foul in 27 forgettable ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics punched the Cavaliers first and never looked back in rolling to a Game 1 rout.

LeBron James took a literal shot to the jaw in Game 2 but kept right on scoring.

So did the Celtics.

Jaylen ...

BOSTON (AP) — The assignment for Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris in his first start this postseason was easy to explain but nearly impossible to execute.

His job: Guard LeBron James, and keep the four-time NBA MVP from running the Celtics out of their own gym in the Eastern Conference ...

BOSTON (AP) — With 2.4 seconds left and the Boston Celtics leading by one, Marcus Smart had a chance to all but clinch Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and eliminate Philadelphia by making a pair of free throws.

He missed the first.

He could have made things more difficult ...

Injuries are having a major impact on the NBA playoffs.

A tweak, turn or strain to this or that has sidelined or limited players from All-Stars to reserves — and that has influenced the early outcomes of Round 2.

After Jaylen Brown strained his right hamstring in Boston’s Game 7 win ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo chased down the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown from behind and swatted what would have been a momentum-swinging layup against the backboard with 53 seconds left in a tight game.

An official first ruled goaltending. A replay review overturned the call ...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jaylen Brown’s 3-pointer gave the short-handed Boston Celtics more than just a perfect road trip.

It gave him some much-needed rest.

Brown’s basket with 0.3 seconds left gave the Celtics a 97-94 victory Wednesday night over the Utah Jazz.

“I was just ...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored a franchise-record 56 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for his league-leading 63rd double-double, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 126-114 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Towns was 6 of 8 from 3-point range for Minnesota, ...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Terry Rozier had no idea he was so close to claiming a spot in the Boston Celtics’ record books for 3-pointers when he tossed up a hurried shot beyond the arc with the shot clock winding down in the fourth quarter and watched it bounce off the rim.

“If I knew that ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Celtics say All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving is set to have surgery Saturday to alleviate pain in his left knee.

Irving has been out since March 11, missing the last four games. There is no timetable for his return from the “minimally invasive” ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Down 10 at the start of the fourth quarter, Boston’s Marcus Morris and Al Horford assessed the situation against the Trail Blazers.

“We had a little conversation at the start of the fourth and said to each other, ’If we come out strong and get this (lead) down we’ve ...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Boston Celtics were breathing a little easier after beating Minnesota on Thursday night, and their relief was about more than just the outcome.

Jaylen Brown, who landed hard on his back and head following a dunk late in the third quarter, was going to be all ...

CHICAGO (AP) — This time, Boston delivered the big beating in Chicago with Kyrie Irving sidelined.

Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, and the Celtics pounded the Bulls 105-89 on Monday night even though their All-Star guard sat out because of a sore left knee.

They remembered what ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics hobbled into the All-Star break, dropping three games in a row.

In its three games back, Boston is looking like a team that made the most of the time off.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in three quarters of work and the Celtics held off the Memphis Grizzlies ...

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics hobbled into the All-Star break, dropping three games in a row.

In its three games back, Boston is looking like a team that made the most of the time off.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points in three quarters of work and the Celtics held off the Memphis Grizzlies ...

NEW YORK (AP) — The Celtics are back from the break and appear to be back on track.

Kyrie Irving had 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, leading Boston over the New York Knicks 121-112 on Saturday for its second victory in two nights since the All-Star break.

“Certainly we ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 12 of Boston’s last 17 points and finished with 28 to help the Celtics remain in sole possession of the Eastern Conference lead with a 110-104 overtime victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Jaylen Brown added five of his 18 points in ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two days after Boston lost to the team chasing the Celtics atop the Eastern Conference standings, guard Kyrie Irving wasn’t about to let his team suffer another defeat.

Irving scored 12 of Boston’s last 17 points and finished with 28 to help the Celtics remain in sole ...