January 10, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembayama (1) in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Image Victor Wembanyama and the surging San Antonio Spurs will host Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Tuesday in a preview of a possible NBA Finals.
The Celtics head to the Alamo City on a two-game winning streak. Brown had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in a 109-98 win at Cleveland on Sunday. Tatum also scored 20 points in his second game back after tearing his right Achilles tendon in May.
After Sunday’s game, Tatum said the hardest part of his return was being limited on minutes.
“It’s really — quite frankly, frustrating,” he said. “(Sunday’s game) felt a little more normal, preparation-wise and mentally. I’m getting back into the swing of things.”
Boston also got 18 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard and 16 points and 10 rebounds from fellow reserve Baylor Scheierman. Sam Hauser had 15 points with five 3-pointers for the Celtics in Sunday’s win.
“I think everyone is doing what they need to do,” Boston guard Derrick White told Forbes Magazine. “Obviously JB (Jaylen Brown) has been special all year and guided us through the season. Every game, we’re competing at a high level, playing hard, playing defense, and going out there and playing Celtics basketball.”
Boston leads the league by holding opponents under 100 points 19 times this season and has allowed under 100 points in six of its last seven wins and 11 times since Jan. 30. Over those 11 games, the Celtics have won nine times.
Boston also leads the NBA with 106.9 points per game. Following San Antonio, the Celtics are scheduled to leap from second place in the Eastern Conference, overtake first place Detroit, and head to Oklahoma City on Thursday.
But Boston will be without center Nikola Vucevic, who underwent surgery Saturday to repair a fracture in his right ring finger. He will not be re-evaluated until early April.
While the Celtics have been the talk of the league as Tatum returns to a winning streak team already loaded, there has been equal interest in the Spurs chasing Oklahoma City for the NBA’s best record and them clinching the West standings.
San Antonio recorded its fourth straight game and 14th of its last 15 with a 145-120 home win over Houston on Sunday. San Antonio scored the most points in a game this season, with four Spurs players scoring 20 or more points, led by Victor Wembanyama’s 29 points.
“We played really sharp defensively and on the boards,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “Scoring starts with defense and rebounding. When you do that with the speed and talent we can play with and the dynamic variety of basketball, it’s really difficult to guard.”
Stephen Castle added 23 points for San Antonio, while De’Aaron Fox finished with 20 points and 10 assists. Keldon Johnson also had 20 points, Dylan Harper had 19 and Julian Champagne had 11. The Spurs shot 58% from the floor and made 21 of their 40 3-point attempts, taking the first three games of a six-game homestand.
San Antonio beat the Celtics 100-95 in the first meeting of the year between the teams on Jan. 10 in Boston.
–Field level media
