The Celtics will be without two key reserves on Saturday night when they face off against the San Antonio Spurs in search of their eighth straight win. Boston downgraded Payton Pritchard (hip) and Al Horford (toe) from questionable to out on Saturday. On the positive news front, Xavier Tillman (knee) was upgraded from questionable to available for the first time in a week.
Tillman will join Jayson Tatum (ankle) who was cleared to return by the team Friday by being removed entirely from the injury report. Horford will get some extra rest amid a terrific season in which he has appeared in 56 games. With Boston not playing again until Monday in Memphis, he will nearly get a full week of rest. Pritchard is missing just his second game of the season as he deals with a sore hip.
Boston will likely give more minutes to Baylor Scheierman, Torrey Craig and potentially Neemias Queta with Horford and Pritchard sidelined for the night. De’Aaron Fox (hand) and Victor Wembanyama (shoulder) remain out for San Antonio due to season-ending injuries, which has led to the Spurs falling out of the playoff race in the Western Conference.
The Celtics are safely locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference but they suddenly closing the gap with the Cleveland Cavaliers amid a seven-game winning streak. Boston is still unlikely to catch the Cavs, trailing by 4.5 games with nine games to play but they could potentially make things interesting by winning out.
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