BOSTON – Payton Pritchard’s season-high 22-point effort against the Toronto Raptors Friday night was just a warm-up act for his regular-season grand finale.
The third-year point guard helped Boston cap off its campaign in style Sunday afternoon by producing his first career triple-double and leading a Celtics team that was resting most of its top rotation players to a 120-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
In his third start of the season, Pritchard logged 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists – all career highs – becoming the third player in Celtics history to reach those marks in a single effort along with Larry Bird and John Havlicek.
Pritchard also knocked down a career-best nine 3-pointers, giving him the second-most long-distance makes in a triple-double performance in NBA history behind only James Harden (10 3-point makes).
Plus, he did it all on national television for the whole country to see.
“I definitely feel honored,” Pritchard said of being a part of such elite company. “But I just looked forward to these last two games as an opportunity to go out and play and show what I’m capable of. That’s all that was on my mind.”
For a role player to score 52 points over a two-game span is outstanding in itself, but it’s even more impressive for a guy who just returned from a month-long injury absence.
Pritchard had missed all but one game since March 6 due to plantar fasciitis in his right heel, an injury which he said caused pain every time he took a step. However, he worked his tail off to regain his health by the end of the season heading into the playoffs, and worked even harder once he got back on the court.
“Payton’s a gym rat,” said Sam Hauser, who also started and scored 26 points, matching the career-high mark that he set Friday night. “He works on his body every day. He’s just a hooper and when he gets out there, it doesn’t matter if he’s hurt or banged up, he’s going to give you 100 percent effort. So, I really respect him for that, and obviously he’s a great player as well.”
Pritchard has earned a great deal of respect from his teammates and coaches for how he’s handled himself this season, maintaining a professional attitude despite a drop in minutes due to Boston’s logjam at the point guard position.
“The way his career has gone as far as playing time, he's always handled it the right way,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He has a competitiveness and a professionalism and a work ethic about him that you always trust. No matter when he goes in, he's gonna be ready to play”
Pritchard was one of several role players that were ready to play Sunday afternoon, as Boston kept its offense rolling despite the team resting its top eight rotation players (Derrick White and Grant Williams played less than six minutes, and six others sat for the full game).
Four different Celtics registered career-high marks in scoring, including Pritchard, Hauser, Mike Muscala (27 points), and two-way rookie guard JD Davison (eight points).
It gave the C's confirmation that they have several players whom they can call upon in the upcoming postseason if a role needs to be filled, and they can do so without losing a step.