It wasn’t until Payton Pritchard knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the fourth quarter that he realized he was hot.
“I really just thought I was taking good shots,” he said after the game. “I didn’t really realize I was on a heater or anything until I hit that deep one when they switched – [Nikola] Vucevic was on me, Zach LaVine dropped back, and I hit it from deep after Sam slipped out on the screen. That’s kind of when I knew I had it going.”
Pritchard erupted for 19 points in the final frame, shooting 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the field and 5-of-6 (83.3%) from beyond the arc, leading the Celtics to a 138-129 win over the Bulls in Chicago.
His 19 points set a new career-high for a single quarter, as he became just the fourth Celtic in franchise history to score at least 19 points with five made threes in a fourth quarter, joining Isaiah Thomas, Dee Brown, and Evan Fournier.
Pritchard finished the night with a season-high 29 points on 10-of-16 (62.5%) shooting from the field and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from deep with seven rebounds (also a season-high), an assist, and a steal. It marked the fourth game in which he made six or more threes off the bench, doubling the number of such games by the next closest reserve, Buddy Hield (2).
“The things that he is doing is Sixth Man of The Year worthy to me,” Jayson Tatum said. “We see the work that he puts in, and we trust him to make the right plays.”
When Derrick White, who had 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, six rebounds, and four assists, left the game early in the third quarter due to what the team is calling a “sore right foot,” the Celtics turned to Pritchard—and he delivered when they needed him most.
Pritchard never subbed back out after he replaced White at the 8:08 mark of the third quarter, playing the remaining 20:08 of the game. He led the Celtics in points (24) and rebounds (6) over that stretch and finished a team-best +17. The 6-foot-1 guard also made some big-time defensive plays that changed the game.
“I think it’s important – returning the exact team to find a different weapon and a different identity. And I think he really works at it,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame. “The key to him is he finds different ways to impact games, but he has grown as a player over the course of his career.”
“He’s a complete player,” Mazzulla added. “I know it sounds weird, but he is one of the best three-level scorers that I’ve seen, especially for his size. He’s just a high-level competitor.”
Pritchard is playing the best basketball of his career, and his four-year, $30 million contract that keeps him in Boston through the 2027-28 season is shaping up to be one of the best bargains in the league—an important deal for a financially restricted, second-apron team like the Celtics.
The fifth-year pro leads all reserves with 296 points, 99 field goals made, and 70 three-pointers. He also ranks 10th in assists (54) and is tied for third among reserve guards with 18 offensive rebounds. Pritchard’s impact is being felt at both ends of the floor, and his all-around contributions are helping propel the Celtics to wins.
“He’s been a superstar in his role all season long,” Jaylen Brown said. “He’s always been a hardworking guy that shows up early, puts his work in, but now it’s like we’re really starting to see the growth. I think Payton could be significant on any other team. He accepts his role, and he has been fantastic for us.”
Part of that role is being ready whenever his name is called—and Friday night was just the latest example of his ability to deliver.
Pritchard has taken his game to another level, building confidence in himself, his teammates, and the coaches, and it’s making the Celtics a better team.
He’s embraced the role Mazzulla envisioned, becoming the “different weapon” the coach wanted, and it’s made the Celtics all that more dangerous.
“You’ve just got to be confident in yourself. Knowing that you belong with the best – all the hard work and the hours that you put in in the summertime – that you are capable of coming in and helping the team win on any given night,” said Pritchard. “I have a strong belief in myself, and I feel like my teammates believe in me, too, to be able to take that on.”
Related
