Celtics’ Payton Pritchard Earns Unlikely Praise After 29-Point Night

Payton Pritchard produced one of his best games of the season as the Boston Celtics secured a 140-122 win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday. The Oregon product ended the night with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal, while shooting 58.8% from the field and 37.5% from deep.

During his postgame news conference, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard admitted that Pritchard’s performance was a decisive factor in Indiana’s second-straight loss to the Celtics.

“I felt like they hit a lot of threes,” Nembhard said. “…Felt like Pritchard was cooking us.”

Pritchard has stepped into a huge role for Boston this season. He’s second on the team in drives per game (10.4), third in touches per game (67), third in pull-up shot attempts (6.1) and leads the team in catch-and-shoot attempts (5).

After a slow start to the season, Pritchard has found his rhythm. And with such an impactful and wide-ranging offensive role, performances like the one against Indiana are inevitable. When his shot is falling and the team is trusting him with the ball in his hands, Pritchard can be a difficult opponent to slow down, both in transition and in the half-court.

Nevertheless, Pritchard wasn’t the only member of the Celtics roster to have a big night. Five of Joe Mazzulla’s players ended the game with double-digit scoring numbers, including Jaylen Brown, who secured his eighth consecutive game with 30 or more points.

Boston boasts the second-best offense in the NBA, according to NBA Stats. They’re about to embark on a four-game West Coast road trip. If Mazzulla’s team can keep up their current level of execution, there’s a chance they could head into the new year on the back of a sizeable win streak.