Kristaps Porzingis began what the Celtics called the “next phase of his recovery” on Monday, joining Boston’s G League affiliate for a practice at the Auerbach Center.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said the rehabbing big man suffered no setbacks during that session.

“I only watched a little of it, but he came out of it OK,” Mazzulla said before Tuesday’s NBA Cup matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden. “So he’ll just continue to ramp it up and get better and better.”

Porzingis underwent offseason surgery to repair the rare leg injury he suffered during the NBA Finals. He has not played since, but he has been around the team and, by all accounts, is making steady progress.

Mazzulla didn’t explain exactly what this “next phase” for Porzingis entails (“I have no idea. It’s a medical phase”) but said he’s been pleased with the work the 7-foot-2 center is putting in.

“All I know is he’s getting better every day, and he’s working really hard at coming back as fast as he can,” Mazzulla said. “And he’s in the next phase of the ramp-up.”

Porzingis was the only Celtics player unavailable for Tuesday’s game. Sixth man Payton Pritchard was listed as questionable Monday with a sprained left thumb but was upgraded to available before the game.

Tillman Maine man

Joining Porzingis for his brief G League rehab assignment was forward Xavier Tillman. Some players might balk at a request to practice with the farm club, but Mazzulla said Tillman, who has fallen out of Boston’s rotation of late, embraced the opportunity.

“He just wanted to play,” Mazzulla said. “It was an opportunity to play, and he’s obviously done a great job of just doing what we’ve asked him to do. So it’s a credit to him. We’ve got a lot of respect for him for making that decision. He’s got to keep getting better and better. He’s brought great character, a great work ethic to it.”

Acquired from Memphis ahead of last season’s trade deadline, Tillman logged substantial minutes over Boston’s first four games but has hardly seen the floor over the past three weeks. Entering Tuesday, the 25-year-old had played just 19 total minutes over the last nine games – despite starting one of those – with four healthy DNPs during that span.

The bulk of Tillman’s minutes have gone to center Neemias Queta, who’s emerged as a steady frontcourt presence for Boston after splitting last season between the NBA and G League.

Queta hasn’t replicated Porzingis’ rim protection and isn’t a perimeter shooting threat, but he entered Tuesday ranked third among Celtics players in rebounds per game behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and first in rebounds and blocks per 36 minutes.

Cavs hurting

Mazzulla said the biggest difference between the current Cavaliers, who carried a perfect 15-0 record into Tuesday’s clash, and the Cleveland squad Boston dispatched in the Eastern Conference semifinals was that this one is “healthier.”

At the top of their roster, that’s certainly true. The Cavs were without Donovan Mitchell for two games of the teams’ playoff series and down Jarrett Allen for all five; both have been available and highly impactful this season.

But Cleveland was missing several important role players in this rematch, with Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade and Caris LeVert all sitting out due to injury. Okoro and Wade have made 15 combined starts this season, and LeVert is the top bench option for head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Atkinson, who didn’t shy away from the hype surrounding this matchup, said playing against the defending champion Celtics would give the Cavs valuable “feedback” about their own championship bona fides.

“Hopefully, we’ll see this team down the road,” he said. “(This is) an important game. On the other hand, I don’t want to blow this game out of proportion. It’s that balance, but it’s more anxious to see where we are. And we all know our schedule has not been the hardest. So we’re playing an elite team, the top team in the league. So I just can’t wait to get some feedback from the game.”

Mazzulla on Montgomery

The Celtics’ fellow TD Garden tenant underwent a coaching change Tuesday, with the reeling Bruins firing Jim Montgomery 20 games into his third season with the club.

Mazzulla, who’s spoken previously about how Boston’s head coaches support each other, called Montgomery’s dismissal an unfortunate reality of their business.

“I talked to him a couple times,” Mazzulla said. “It’s tough. I talked to him a few times, and then watching the games. I didn’t really dive deep into his coaching philosophy or stuff like that. You hate to see a coach have to go through that, but we all get hired to get fired.”

Montgomery and Mazzulla found similar regular-season success in Boston, but each of the former’s first two seasons ended in an early playoff exit. The Bruins then nosedived this season, prompting management to cut bait after an 8-9-3 start.

Joe Sacco will replace Montgomery on an interim basis.

Off the rim

Big Boston sports week for Chris Sale. After attending Patriots-Rams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the former Red Sox ace was among the notable attendees at Celtics-Cavs. … Boston’s remaining schedule for NBA Cup group play: at Washington this Friday and at Chicago next Friday. Unless the Celtics make the knockout rounds and earn a home game in the quarterfinals, Tuesday was their final time playing on the bright-green TD Garden court.

Originally Published: November 19, 2024 at 6:35 PM EST

A Boston man received a five-month prison term Friday for obtaining nearly $50,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic relief aid for his purported businesses, funds he instead spent at a casino and a Saks Fifth Avenue store, according to Acting US Attorney Joshua S. Levy’s office.

Antawn Davis, 40, learned his fate in US District Court in Boston, where he had pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud and making false statements, federal prosecutors said. Davis was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $49,999 in restitution and forfeiture.

In April and May of 2021, Davis submitted bogus loan applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, meant to help businesses hurt by the pandemic, prosecutors said in a statement.

“The applications contained multiple false statements, including the purported business’ total gross income in 2020, and the purpose of the loan,” prosecutors said. “Davis also submitted false tax records in support of his loan applications.”

Davis received nearly $50,000 in public funds, money that he promptly spent “on non-business-related expenses, including transactions at a casino and at Saks Fifth Avenue.”

Within weeks of getting the taxpayer funds, Davis “spent nearly the entirety of the proceeds on non-business-related expenses through a series of transactions, including for example, at Champs Sports, a casino, a zoo, Six Flags, and Saks Fifth Avenue,” prosecutors said.

“The defendant spent the funds on shopping and recreational excursions,” they said. “No portion of the loan proceeds went toward keeping a business running or employees paid.”

In a recent sentencing memo, Davis’s lawyer, John H. Cunha Jr., asked that his client be spared prison time.

“He is a 40-year-old man, motivated by his personal and professional responsibilities as a father of four and a chef, who has worked to turn his life around,” Cunha wrote. “He requests a sentence of 36 months’ probation, which is ‘sufficient, but not greater than necessary’ to achieve the purposes of sentencing set forth” in federal law.

“The seriousness of Mr. Davis’ offense is mitigated by his remorse and desire to pay restitution,” he said. “There is no need to incarcerate Mr. Davis to prevent recidivism.”

Davis had thought about buying a food truck with the money but “determined there was a three-year waiting period” for a city permit, his lawyer said.

“He then spent some of the money paying bills, including a car payment, but also frittered some of it away, including by gambling, a regular pursuit, although he does not believe his gambling is problematic,” Cunha wrote.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.

The third-ranked Boston College men’s hockey team traveled to Storrs, Connecticut to face the UConn Huskies on Friday evening. After a sweep of fifth-ranked Maine, and with a matchup with the tenth-ranked Providence Friars awaiting, this matchup with the 5-5-1 Huskies was supposed to be a schedule break for the Eagles.

It proved to be anything but that.

After taking a 1-0 lead into the second period, the Huskies went on to score three unanswered goals in the last five minutes of the second frame to make the score 3-1 going into the final period.

Despite a three-goal effort from the Eagles, UConn was able to hold onto its lead and prevent BC’s comeback effort. The men move to 7-2 after the upset loss.

The road does not get easier this week, as Boston College now travel to Providence, Rhode Island to take on another top 10 opponent in the Providence Friars, its fourth top 10 opponent of the season.

The Eagles will be without their sophomore goalkeeper, Jacob Fowler, after being ejected and later suspended for throwing a punch after giving up the third goal of the second period to the Huskies.

Another sophomore, Jan Korec, will get the call after finishing the last 32-minutes against the Huskies. He performed well in the near-comeback effort, only surrendering two goals, but it will be a tall task in his first start of the season, on the road against an elite opponent.

Fortunately for fans, Tuesday night’s match against Providence will be the first nationally televised appearance of the season for the Eagles.

How to Watch: Boston College @ Providence; Tuesday, November 19th: 7 p.m. EST; ESPNU | Watch | Live Stats

No games scheduled on Monday, November 18th

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