Payton Pritchard scores 42 as Celtics beat Cavaliers in a thriller: 7 takeaways

"Payton Pritchard was fully engulfed in flames Pritchard struggled against the Timberwolves on Saturday, and the Cavaliers suffered the wrath of his mean regression immediately - he buried a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game, then needed just one minute before he made his next one. On the Celtics' next possession, he buried his third. The only thing that was able to limit Pritchard in the first quarter was foul trouble - he picked up his second at the 5:52 mark,"

"But when Pritchard returned to the game, he remained hot, and he was an important part of a massive third-quarter flurry that stretched the lead as high as 18 before the Cavaliers trimmed the deficit back down to 11 before the end of the quarter. Pritchard then hit a monstrous 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, three huge 2-pointers, and four enormous free throws that helped the Celtics hold the Cavaliers at arm's length. He finished with 42 points on 15-for-22 shooting."

"The Celtics needed to get the ball over the half-court line against a hyper-aggressive Cavaliers defense, and they only had three seconds to do so. Pritchard calmly caught the inbounds pass in the back court (where Cleveland wanted him to catch it), and he nimbly maneuvered his way through Cleveland's defenders to find Sam Hauser across the line in the nick of time. Hauser passed back to Pritchard, and he dribbled several seconds off the clock before the Cavaliers were able to foul him."

Payton Pritchard exploded for 42 points, shooting 15-for-22 and 6-for-11 from three, after an earlier struggle against the Timberwolves. Foul trouble briefly limited him in the first quarter, but he returned hot and fueled a massive third-quarter flurry that pushed the lead to 18. He hit a monstrous late third-quarter and fourth-quarter 3-pointer, added three key 2-pointers and four crucial free throws, and executed a critical inbounds sequence in the final 15 seconds to preserve possession. Jaylen Brown recorded a triple-double. The Celtics held off the Cavaliers' comeback to secure a thrilling victory.

Read at Boston.com