After a short break, Pruitt rejoins the Celtics

CLEVELAND — Gabe Pruitt wore a Utah Flash jersey over the weekend. But he spent no more time in Utah over the holiday than your average traveler changing planes at Salt Lake City.

In fact, he spent Thanksgiving weekend in California, which is home. Family and friends got to see him play twice, once in Anaheim (where he scored 31 points and made the winning basket) and once at the Staples Center (where he scored 12 points and his team lost). Then the guard left the Developmental League team, boarded a plane for Cleveland, and joined the Celtics in time for Tuesday’s shootaround and Tuesday’s game against the Cavaliers.

‘‘It felt good to be able to get out and play,’’ said Pruitt, who averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 37 minutes in the two games with Utah. ‘‘But it feels even better to be back. Now I have to make the most of it.’’

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said it was unclear how long Pruitt would remain with the parent team. Under NBA rules, a player can be assigned to a D-League affiliate only three times during the NBA season. But Rivers said he wished he’d had Pruitt available Monday, when the Celtics had a practice that, the coach said, ‘‘wasn’t very good.

‘‘We didn’t have any guards,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘Tony [Allen] was out. Ray [Allen] was out. We had to use Glen Davis at [small forward] and James Posey at [shooting guard]. That’s not what I want it to be and it showed.’’

Tony Allen, still hurting from a Primoz Brezec knee to his right thigh Saturday in Charlotte, did not play Tuesday night. He hopes to be back Thursday night. Ray Allen, suffering from a mild right ankle sprain, did start.

Pruitt flew to Utah and went through a practice with the team, then immediately left for Southern California. It’s not quite the same as traveling with the Celtics.

‘‘Yeah, that’s for sure,’’ Pruitt said. ‘‘We were all in coach when we flew. We stayed at a Clarion and a Marriott. But I also got a chance to play in front of my family, uncles, aunts, mom, and dad, so that part of it was good.

‘‘I played well in that first game, although the second game wasn’t so good. I couldn’t get it going.’’

He had nine turnovers in that game.

‘‘I got all these e-mails after the first game,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘Then nothing after the second. I didn’t even know they played a second game.’’

Allen in, Allen out

Rivers said he stopped worrying about Ray Allen’s status when he saw that the veteran was going through his normal pregame routine. ‘‘That tells me he feels pretty good,’’ the coach said. He also said he agreed with Tony Allen’s prediction that the guard would be ready for Thursday night’s game against the Knicks ..... Speaking of that one, the game is on TNT, and it’s been a while since the Celtics were featured on the NBA’s Thursday night broadcast vehicle. Their previous appearance was March 16, 2006, in Miami. They haven’t had a TNT game at home since April 10, 2003, when they hosted the 76ers ..... LeBron James was coming off consecutive triple-doubles, but Rivers was more impressed with what he called James’s ‘‘gaudy’’ numbers. ‘‘He’s getting 37 points,’’ said Rivers. ‘‘Usually, if you score 37, you don’t have time to do anything else.’’ Rivers also said people tend to forget James is only 22; he turns 23 Dec. 30. ‘‘I think we all forget how young he is, and that he’s still going to get better,’’ said Rivers. ‘‘And that’s a shame if you have to prepare to play against him.’’

Home and away

Tuesday night was the Cavaliers’ seventh home game; they were only 3-3 at Quicken Loans Arena. And they play five of their next six on the road, starting with a three-game trip that begins Wednesday night in Detroit and ends in Boston Sunday afternoon ..... The Cavs were without Larry Hughes, whose annual injury this year is a deep bone bruise in his left leg. He’s appeared in only six games; Tuesday's was the 67th he’s missed in just two-plus years with the Cavs. He also missed most of the 2007 NBA Finals. Donyell Marshall (sprained right wrist) also was out ..... There’s still no light at the end of the tunnel in the tug-of-war between the Cavs and Anderson Varejao, a restricted free agent. Varejao told ESPN.com that he wanted out of Cleveland, playing the ‘‘no respect’’ card. The Cavs still hope Varejao comes to his senses — he thinks he’s worth $10 million a year — and re-signs. ‘‘I had a guy like that in Orlando in Darrell Armstrong,’’ Rivers said. ‘‘You lose an energy guy, you’re losing more than just the basketball skills.’’ Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic were in the same boat, both missing training camp in holdouts. Pavlovic reupped Nov. 1 and has started nine of the 12 games in which he has played.