Playing without two starters for the first time this season, the Boston Celtics improved to 2-0 against the team many pegged as the favorite in the Eastern Conference.

Boston defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-115 on Sunday at Rocket Arena, spearheaded by Jaylen Brown’s fourth career triple-double and a season-high 42 points from Payton Pritchard.

Pritchard scored his final six points in the last 90 seconds of regulation to hold off a late Cleveland charge led by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. His two free throws with 5.9 seconds to play were the difference for the 11-9 Celtics, who now sit just a half-game back of the underperforming Cavs in the East standings.

Brown finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, offsetting his 3-for-13 showing from the field by going 12 for 16 from the foul line. He missed his final free throw of the night with 0.6 seconds remaining, but Evan Mobley couldn’t convert what would have been a game-tying buzzer-beater on the ensuing Cavs possession.

The Celtics also got a career night from Jordan Walsh, who had 14 points, 11 rebounds, six offensive rebounds, two steals and a block in his first NBA double-double. Xavier Tillman emerged from end-of-the-bench exile to log 30 minutes, nine points, six rebounds, three steals and a block in by far his most impactful performance of the season. Both made key second-half plays to prevent the Cavs from overcoming a 21-point third-quarter deficit.

Derrick White (right calf contusion) missed his first game since April, while Neemias Queta sat out for the second time in three games with what the team called left ankle sprain injury management. Queta was stellar on Saturday (19 points, 18 rebounds, two blocks), but head coach Joe Mazzulla chose to be cautious with his starting center on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Cavs also were down several regulars, including starting big man Jarrett Allen and rotation players Sam Merrill and Lonzo Ball. Cleveland’s All-Star backcourt was intact, however, with Garland recently returning from the toe injury that kept him out of his team’s loss in Boston on Oct. 29.

To replace White and Queta in the starting five, Mazzulla plugged in core reserve Sam Hauser and the seldom-used Tillman. It was Hauser’s first start since Oct. 24 and the first of the season for Tillman, who saw action in just one of the Celtics’ previous 11 games. Rookie two-way player Amari Williams was the first big off the bench — and, it turned out, the only one. Luka Garza and Chris Boucher both were healthy DNPs for Boston.

Pritchard came out firing with three 3-pointers in the opening two minutes, including one just nine seconds after tipoff. His three first-half fouls limited his playing time, but he was highly efficient when he was on the floor, making nine of his first 10 field goals and scoring 18 points before halftime.

The other Celtic to hit double figures in the first half was Anfernee Simons, who remained in his sixth man role even with White sidelined.

Simons has yet to start a game for the Celtics after doing so 208 times over his final four seasons with the Trail Blazers, and he’s been inconsistent in his return to the bench. Over his last seven games before Sunday, he’d topped 20 points twice and failed to score 10 four times. The offense-focused guard has proven he can pile up points in a hurry, however, and that’s what he did Sunday night.

With Pritchard in foul trouble and Brown struggling to find his shot, Simons poured in 16 points in 17 first-half minutes, going 7 for 10 from the field. His 3-pointer in transition with 1.9 seconds to play in the half capped a 9-0 run for the Celtics, who led 58-51 at the break.

Tillman nearly added to that lead by stealing the ensuing inbounds pass and hitting a buzzer-beating corner 3, but his make was waved off after a video review. Undeterred, the veteran big grabbed two more steals early in the second half, turning one into a fast-break layup at the other end.

The Celtics dominated much of the third quarter. They ripped off a 21-3 run – during which they allowed just one Cavaliers rebound – to build an 86-65 lead. The Cavs eventually stabilized following a Kenny Atkinson timeout, and quality shot-making from Mitchell, Mobley and Jaylon Tyson trimmed Boston’s lead to 11 points entering the fourth. Cleveland then opened the final period with a 9-2 run to cut it to four and trigger a Mazzulla timeout.

Walsh helped halt that run by ripping the ball away from De’Andre Hunter after a Simons miss, drawing a foul and making both free throws. A minute later, Hugo Gonzalez pilfered a Hunter pass and hit a 3-pointer – his first since Nov. 11 – to make it 97-90.

The young wings’ hustle plays shifted momentum back toward Boston, and the Celtics led by 11 with less than two minutes remaining. Mitchell and Garland nearly erased that by scoring 13 points over the final 1:44, but Cleveland couldn’t close the gap.

The Celtics will return home Wednesday to host the New York Knicks at TD Garden.

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