Payton Pritchard's big night carries Celtics to win over Cavaliers

The Boston Celtics faced one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the Cleveland Cavaliers, just 24 hours after a tough battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Coming into the game short-handed with Derrick White and Neemias Queta ruled out, Boston was carried by the reigning Sixth Man Of the Year, Payton Pritchard who had his best game of the season to carry the Celtics over one of the top teams in the conference.

Cleveland would put together a late game run, but Boston would do just enough to pull off the victory, one day after their blowing their lead against Minnesota. It was a rough night for superstars Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell on both teams, respectively, but it left the door open for other contributors to step up.

Here's a quick recap of the Celtics victory on the second night of a back-to-back between two top teams in the NBA.

Keys to the game:

Payton Pritchard: There's no other person who deserves the credit as much Payton Pritchard, especially considering his big night came after struggling on Saturday. With White and Queta out of action, Boston needed someone to step up, and it was Pritchard who led all scorers with his 42 points, which included him going 6-11 from 3-point range. Several times this season, Pritchard has shown what Boston is still capable of pulling off against unprepared opponents, getting big night efforts when least expected.

Role players stepping up: Payton Pritchard will get the shine, but Jordan Walsh, Xavier Tillman, and Anfernee Simons all came to play on Sunday. Each player saw themselves with more responsibilities against Cleveland, and whether it was on defense, or in the case of Simons, his 18-point contribution, they all made the most of their opportunity. Boston made not have the deepest roster in the NBA, but their role players have quite the understanding of what's being asked of them each and every night.

Kept the lead: Saturday's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves felt like a gut punch after they got out to such an explosive start in the first half. While the game got much closer than expected late in the fourth quarter, Boston was able to turn around the narrative from the night before and held on for the victory against a tough Cavaliers team.

Highlight of the game: Payton Pritchard comes up clutch during big scoring night

What's next: vs. New York Knicks, Tuesday, December 2, 8:00 PM ET, Peacock/NBC

The Celtics will be looking for revenge in the second of four meetings between them and the New York Knicks in their bitter rivalry. In their first matchup this season, New York pulled off a 10-point win on their home court, where they outscored Boston 42-14 in the second quarter. Boston is just two wins behind New York in the win column and should have their full roster after being without White and Queta on Sunday.

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Payton Pritchard's big night carries Celtics to win over Cavaliers