CLEVELAND — Jayson Tatum did not initially expect his mother, Brandy Cole-Barnes, to be at the Boston Celtics’ game Sunday afternoon. Though she is a regular presence at home games, she hasn’t always traveled on the road. Her text message in the morning, letting Tatum know she would be attending the game, caught her son by surprise.

White was always expected to be one of the beneficiaries of Tatum getting back on the floor, and the early signs point to that being the case.

How is Jayson Tatum doing this?

Jayson Tatum scored 20 points, including a dagger 3-pointer with 1:59 left, as the Celtics beat the Cavaliers in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.

Tatum got off to a slow start in his first game since tearing his Achilles nearly 10 months ago but caught fire to finish with a double-double in Boston's win.

In his second game back, Tatum had less of a spotlight than on Friday at TD Garden. Jaylen Brown warned things may be a work in progress, but that didn't seem to be the case against an Eastern Conference favorite.

Tatum played 27 minutes Sunday in Cleveland, which followed up his 27-minute night against the Mavericks. But how those minutes came about was different in comparing the two games. With the C’s up big on Dallas, Tatum checked out early to conclude a successful comeback.

When the Boston Celtics were staring down the barrel of a season without Jayson Tatum last year, the consensus was that this would be a throwaway season for the NBA’s most successful franchise of all time.