The Boston Celtics are going through a season in transition. The die was cast in last spring's playoffs when All-Star Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles that would force them to change their game plan and lessen their expectations. Since the start of the season the Celtics have been fighting to stay over the .500 mark instead of dominating the Eastern Conference, as they had done with a healthy Tatum in the lineup. In games where they get off to sharp starts, they were often successful. However, in games where they fall behind, they have a hard time mounting comebacks.

In Sunday's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics got off to the fastest of starts. Guard Payton Pritchard was able to hit a three-point shot before the game was 10 seconds old. As a result of that early success, Pritchard became one of only five players in team history to hit a 3-pointer that early in the game.

The Celtics won the tip-off and Jaylen Brown had the ball. He took two dribbles and passed the ball to Pritchard. He launched a shot two feet beyond the arc and drained it at the 8-second mark. He joined Brown, Marcus Smart, Aron Baynes and Chauncey Billups who also achieved the feat.

The quick start helped the Celtics record a 117-115 victory on the road over the Cavaliers.

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Pritchard goes on to have huge game for Celtics

While the Celtics normally look to Pritchard as a key supporting player to Brown, he was the star of the game against the Cavaliers. He scored a game-high 42 points as he made 15 of 22 shots from the field, including 6 of 11 from beyond the arc.

For the season, Pritchard is averaging 16.2 points and 4.9 assists per game. He is second on the team in scoring to Brown, who is averaging 28.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

The Celtics improved their record to 11-9 with the victory and they will attempt to make it two wins in a row and three wins out of four when they host the Knicks Tuesday.