After an 0-3 start to the season, Boston (2-3) needed a bounce back in a big way on Monday night in New Orleans.

With Zion Williamson out for the Pelicans (0-4), the Celtics took care of business in a decisive 122-90 victory.

Win No. 1 secured. Mission accomplished.

With one day of rest, it was back to stiff competition on Wednesday night at TD Garden. This time, it was the defending No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference coming to town, as the Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) looked to continue their strong start to the 2025-25 season with all that continuity on their roster.

Instead, the Cavs showed up flat, and the Celtics shooting took advantage.

In their most impressive performance of the season, Boston beat the Cavaliers 125-105, showing for the second straight night that Mazzulla Ball can still be an effective tool to win basketball games with a depleted roster.

Here’s what Joe Mazzulla, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser and Josh Minott had to say after the win:

Joe Mazzulla

ON HIS TEAM ROUNDING INTO FORM: “It’s just got to be connected basketball that has to carry us. We got to force turnovers. We have to rebound on both ends of the floor. The shooting is a plus. And I think the shooting is coming from us getting our legs underneath us, playing a different way, having bodies getting used to that. Because we're obviously playing a little bit differently. So I think it's starting to kind of catch up.”

ON MINOTT: “He’s done a good job. Just having an understanding of what the standard is, how he has to play, and compete. His ability to make plays on both ends of the floor, his versatility. Still have up some plays, gotta get better at that. So, continue to work at it.”ON REBOUNDING: “It’s just one of those things that you have to make the choice every day when you wake up that you’re going to rebound on both ends of the floor… So it's not something that we figured out. You have to remind and watch it tomorrow. And then we’re either going to do good or we’re not, and then we’re going to remind and do it again. So it's just one of those habits and disciplines that never goes away, you just constantly have to work on it.”

ON HIS TEAM’S IDENTITY: “There is an identity that we have to play to. There's a full understanding of what that identity is, and it's a credit to the guys. That's a commitment that it takes every single night on both ends, that this is the way we have to play. We have to leverage their strengths. And, you know, we’re starting to really see what those strengths are. And it's a credit to them buying in and doing it. So five games in here, 77 left. We do it every night. Just getting 11,12 guys that can play the way we need to play on both ends of the floor, we'll continue to grow as a team. So it's a credit to them doing that, and we've got to get better at it.”

Jaylen Brown

ON HIS TEAM ROUNDING INTO FORM: "It's just one game. We've got a lot of basketball in front of us. We're still learning, still figuring some stuff out. But we're moving in the right direction. I've got full confidence in my teammates and the coaching staff, but we're still growing and learning every single day. Today was a good night for us. We played well. We've just got to keep building on that."“We’re still learning, still figuring some stuff out, but moving in the right direction. I have full confidence in my teammates and our coaching staff, but we’re still growing and learning every single day. Today was a good night for us. We played well. Just got to keep building.”

"I'm definitely seeing us building in the right direction. Sometimes it results in wins, sometimes it results in losses, but as long as we continue to develop and get better, that's the most important thing for this group right now to learn and get better. And sometimes, you got to do it through experience. Can't expect it just to come in a bunch of new guys, to come in and expect to know how to win and know how to -- we're going to learn. We're going to build, and I know we don't, we're not going to make any excuses, but it's a great challenge, and I'm excited for it."

Josh Minott

ON REBOUNDING: “As a team, we just turned that switch on. Collectively, we're all trying to make sure our man doesn't get it. And then after that, it's like a team effort to make sure, like, Okay, now my man doesn't have it. Now it's like, which one of us is gonna go get it, you know, so collective effort on everybody for sure.”

ON SLOW START: “Postgame, no one has been holding their head down. I mean, we’ve all been together, collectively. Understood that like it's been a change for a lot of people on the team, and we respect that. We’re not going to put our head down and just give up on a season because we started off 0-3. I mean, the energy here is just amazing. The entire locker room is bought into the championship culture.”

Up next for the Celtics - the first night of a back-to-back, as Boston heads to Philadelphia for a rematch with the 76ers (4-0) on Friday night. Their Atlantic Division rivals are off to a great start, using their big opening night win at TD Garden as their launching pad for a bounce-back season in 2025-26.

The 76ers will be coming into that one on two days rest. Boston will be accounting for a game against Houston at TD Garden on Saturday. The Rockets are one of the best teams in the NBA, and are coached by Mazzulla’s boss in Ime Udoka. You know he’s going to want that one for his guys.

…I’m hammering the Sixers to move to 5-0 on Friday.

Tip-off for that one is set for 7:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.

Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.