Boston Celtics
Pritchard’s return to the bench could be related to the impending departure of Anfernee Simons, and the return of another player?
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) shoots over Dallas Mavericks’ Jaden Hardy (1) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) AP
Jaylen Brown’s huge night led the Celtics to a comfortable 110-100 victory against the Mavericks on Tuesday, as the Celtics improved to 32-18 on the front end of a back-to-back.
Here are the takeaways.
Payton Pritchard went back to the bench.
With Anfernee Simons unofficially-but-nearly-officially headed to Chicago in exchange for Nikola Vucevic, Joe Mazzulla made a surprise move, sending Payton Pritchard — who previously started all 48 of the games in which he appeared this season — back to the bench.
Pritchard played well enough in the first half to warrant the walk-off interview at the break, and while he said his job is to be a “killer” in any role, his tone sounded slightly terse which, in fairness, could be due to how many times in his career he has been asked about coming off the bench.
If Pritchard is a little bruised about not starting, he could perhaps be excused: He is averaging 16.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Joe Mazzulla, for his part, said he has “no idea” if the change will stick, but Pritchard said he expects it will.
Still, Pritchard was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, and he looked every bit the part on Tuesday — 26 points on 12-for-20 shooting, with four rebounds and seven assists. He didn’t do anything that Celtics fans would be surprised to see — with the possible exception of Brown, nobody is better at lowering their shoulder and getting precisely where they want to go, and including Brown, nobody is better at stopping and popping for short-range jumpers. The Mavericks struggled to stay in front of him at the point of attack, and even when they managed to contain his initial drive, Pritchard is incredibly adept at finding a way to slip free with a tornado of pivots.
The plan for Pritchard going forward will be fascinating, and perhaps telling. Simons provided the Celtics with scoring punch off the bench, which will be missing in his absence if Pritchard starts. The Celtics have spent much of the season developing other players who can capably play in a starting role, and those players are probably better suited as side-kicks next to Jaylen Brown and Derrick White than they are as part of an all-bench lineup, whereas Pritchard can carry the team for stretches.
And, of course, a larger question looms over everything: If the Celtics are starting to prep Pritchard for a return to a bench role, that might mean that another player is going to enter the starting lineup again soon — one who recently expressed his hesitations about shaking up the good thing the Celtics have going.
Jaylen Brown expended some energy.
The Celtics, who played the front end of a back-to-back on Tuesday, may have been hoping for an easier win, wrapped up and stamped early enough to keep Brown off the floor in the fourth quarter.
Instead, Cooper Flagg led a bit of a rally, which kept Brown in the game long enough to rack up yet another 30-point outing — this one 33 points on 15-for-29 shooting — on the heels of a Player of the Month award that felt like a bit of a make-up call for his snub in December.
Brown’s shooting fell off a cliff in January, especially from 15-19 feet where he shot 36.2 percent — down from 50 percent from that range this year.
On Tuesday, however, Brown looked like the December version of himself. He repeatedly got to his spots, gathered himself, and created enough separation to fire up a clean look. The only reason he didn’t score 40 is because he only went to the free throw line twice, where he was 1-for-2.
Brown also grabbed 11 rebounds, comfortably leading the team. The Mavericks’ center rotation is beat up — the lone rotation big still available, Daniel Gafford, hurt himself twice in Tuesday’s action — but Brown is up to five double-doubles in his last eight games.
Now Brown will have to do it all over again against a much better team on Wednesday in Houston.
Cooper Flagg grew up a Celtics fan.
In case you missed it, Cooper Flagg was a Celtics fan growing up. Had you heard that Cooper Flagg was a Celtics fan growing up? … You did hear that? … Several times? Every day, in fact, since it became clear that he was going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft?
Fair enough. In any case, Flagg looked excellent with his family in town to watch him play his favorite childhood team (the Celtics, in case you missed it). He poured in 36 points on 12-for-24 shooting and essentially single-handedly prevented the game from turning into a blowout in the fourth quarter. Flagg added nine rebounds and six assists, and he worked his way to the free-throw line 11 times.
Much like Tatum — one of Flagg’s favorite players growing up as a Celtics fan, ICYMI — Flagg will be 19 for what feels like a ridiculous amount of time. He doesn’t turn 20 until December, and he already has an incredibly advanced feel for the game — even more so than Tatum at that age, who was still a little overly in love with the idea of turning himself into a Kobe-Bryant-esque mid-range artist (a role that, ironically, Tatum’s partner-in-crime seems better suited to playing). Flagg is a freak athlete and an excellent defender, and he plays with a level of force that looks nothing like a teenager.
The Mavericks are not a good team, and they have a long way to go before they can boast a real contender alongside Flagg, but they have one heck of a 1A prospect already in place.
Luka Garza prompted an unkind comparison.
After Garza buried his fourth 3-pointer of the evening and ran back up the court smiling about his own hot hand, Peacock announcer Reggie Miller stuck a knife in any Mavericks fan still tuned in to the game.
“Luka Magic is back here in American Airlines,” Miller enthused.
Mavericks fans may have been a little delusional about their team’s chances in the 2024 NBA Finals, but they didn’t deserve to lose Luka Doncic, and they certainly didn’t deserve the collateral damage of hearing Reggie Miller declare Luka Magic back in the building in reference to Luka Garza.
In any case, Garza was fantastic — 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting, and a perfect evening from behind the arc. The Celtics are undefeated when he scores 12 or more points.
Someone make sure to let Vucevic know that center minutes don’t come easy on the Celtics.
Baylor Scheierman got the start.
Scheierman seems to have Mazzulla’s trust over Jordan Walsh and Hugo González at the moment, and he was given the starting role in Pritchard’s place on Tuesday.
Scheierman shot just 1-for-5 from the floor, but he made a 3-pointer, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists in his 29 minutes. González played with his usual reckless abandon and was 1-for-6 from the floor in 16 minutes, while Walsh went without a stat other than a missed field goal in 10 minutes.
What’s next
The All-Star break is near, but the Celtics’ schedule is still unrelenting: They face the Rockets on Wednesday before returning home for a three-game homestand headed into the break. They host the Heat on Friday and the Knicks on Sunday, before a Bulls team that will (presumably) feature Anfernee Simons makes the trek to Boston next Wednesday.
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