The Boston Celtics had every reason to lose to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night, but they ended up grinding out an upset 117-115 victory instead. Everyone delivered for the C’s in this one, but one of the star performers in this game was third-year forward Jordan Walsh. With a slew of minutes opening up this season, Walsh has been one of the primary beneficiaries in the early going. Walsh has gradually begun to earn the trust of head coach Joe Mazzulla, which has led to him starting each of the team’s past eight games. Walsh isn’t necessarily the flashiest player, but he turned in the best game of his young career against the Cavs, as he scored 14 points and hauled in 11 rebounds in the win. However, there’s another key metric that highlights Walsh’s impact in this game. On the second night of a back-to-back, Walsh stepped up and led the team by spending 38 minutes and four seconds on the court in this one. Considering how both Derrick White and Neemias Queta were out for this game, too, that made Walsh’s contributions even more important. In his eight starts, Walsh is averaging 6.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. More importantly, though, is the fact that Boston has won six of those eight contests. Story continues below advertisement Walsh’s ability to make contributions on both sides of the ball has stood out early this season, and he appears to be cementing his spot on the Celtics’ roster for the long-term future. Boston will be back in action on Tuesday night when they return to TD Garden to take on the New York Knicks.