Final: Celtics 117, Cavs 115 - Pritchard drops 42 as C's survive late Cavs push

BOSTON CELTICS (10-9) at CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (12-8)

Regular season game 20

Rocket Arena, 6 p.m. - NBCS Boston

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Cleveland. The Celtics are on a back-to-back. The Cavs had Saturday off. 

INJURIES

Boston: Derrick White (OUT, calf), Neemias Queta (OUT, ankle), Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Cleveland: Jarrett Allen (OUT-finger), Lonzo Ball (OUT-knee), Sam Merrill (OUT-hand), Larry Nance Jr. (OUT-calf), Max Strus (OUT-foot), Craig Porter Jr. (QUESTIONABLE-hamstring)

OFFICIALS

Courtney Kirkland (#61)    Karl Lane (#77)    Brandon Schwab (#86)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Going Small: Without Queta, and with Luka Garza struggling a bit lately, I wonder if the Celtics will try to go smaller and more mobile against the Cavs. Allen missing the game for Cleveland means pulling Evan Mobley away from the paint and opening up drives by Jaylen Brown. 

2. Anfernee Simons being aggressive: He was almost invisible against the Timberwolves, which probably means the team was in his ear to be aggressive again. The absence of White means Simons will be counted on to do a lot as a second/third scoring option. He’ll get plenty of minutes and opportunity. 

3. Darius Garland’s impact: He’s working his way back from a toe issue and has had some mixed results. The shooting isn’t there yet, but he’s moving the ball well. The defense on him has to be precise because the Cavs are a different team when he plays well.

4. Jaylen Brown vs. Donovan Mitchell: Two good friends matching up, both leading shorthanded teams, both looking at the standings thinking they should be in a better spot. This has duel written all over it, so I say the guy who uses his gravity to get the most out of his teammates will win this game. One of these guys might drop 50, but if the other has 35 and 10 assists, that guy is walking off the court with a smile. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.