Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Flirts with triple-double
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Pritchard recorded 38 points (15-21 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 4-4 FT), nine rebounds and 12 assists across 44 minutes during Sunday's 132-122 victory over the Wizards.
Two days after scoring a career-high 31 points, Pritchard followed that up with a 38-12-9 line. He was one rebound shy of notching the first triple-double of his career, and he played a season-high 44 minutes with the Celtics resting all of their starters plus Al Horford (rest). Pritchard ends the regular season recording career highs across most statistical categories, and in April, he averaged 18.8 points on 55.9 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists over 29.4 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Career night versus Charlotte
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Pritchard notched 31 points (14-22 FG, 3-8 3Pt), three rebounds, 11 assists and one steal in 31 minutes during Friday's 131-98 victory over Charlotte.
Pritchard scored a career-high 31 points Friday and was the main guy for the Celtics with the team sitting all five of their starters plus Al Horford (toe). It was the third double-double of the season for Pritchard, and the fourth-year guard out of Oregon has played a key role off the bench for Boston this season. Pritchard is averaging 16.0 points on 52.2 percent shooting, 2.9 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.0 steals over 27.3 minutes per game in April.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Draws start Friday
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Pritchard is starting Friday's game against the Hornets, John Karalis of BostonSportsJournal.com reports.
The Celtics are resting their entire usual group of starters Friday, so Pritchard will enter the starting lineup for the penultimate game of the regular season. Over three starts this year, he's averaged 18.0 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Boosts offensively off bench in win
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Pritchard finished with 20 points (9-13 FG, 2-4 3Pt), three rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 26 minutes during Sunday's 124-107 victory over the Trail Blazers.
Pritchard led all Celtics bench players in scoring and assists while ending two dimes shy of the double-digit mark to provide an offensive lift on the Boston second unit. Pritchard has handed out at least eight assists in seven games this season, adding 20 or more points in two of those outings. He has now surpassed the 20-point mark in nine appearances, including in two straight games.
Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Hands out eight dimes off bench
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Pritchard produced 11 points (4-10 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, eight assists and two steals over 28 minutes during Wednesday's 135-100 victory over Oklahoma City.
Pritchard seemed to have cooled off in his last three games, but he delivered another quality showing here, taking advantage of the uptick in minutes and finishing just two assists away from a double-double. Despite coming off the bench, Pritchard has now scored in double digits in seven of his last 10 appearances, a span in which he's averaged 13.0 points, 6.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest.
Pritchard accumulated 15 points (7-12 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 0-2 FT), five rebounds and six assists over 28 minutes during Monday's 120-118 loss to the Hawks.
Pritchard lead Boston with the six assists Monday, doing so without committing a turnover. Additionally, it's an encouraging sign to see Pritchard score efficiently on a night when his three-point shot was cold. The 26-year-old is averaging 18.4 points and 6.6 assists while making 3.4 triples in 33.8 minutes across his last five games, and he profiles as a strong option if Jrue Holiday (shoulder) and Derrick White (hand) continue missing time in the future.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Back to bench
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Pritchard will return to a reserve role in Saturday's game versus the Bulls, Sean Grande of NBC Sports Boston reports.
The Celtics are opting to go with a big frontcourt against the Bulls, so Pritchard will come off the bench. However, Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Jaylen Brown (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) are all out, so the point guard could still see a healthy workload as a reserve.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Pops for 20 in Friday's start
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Pritchard accumulated 20 points (8-15 FG, 4-9 3Pt), two rebounds and nine assists across 38 minutes during Friday's 129-102 victory over the Pistons.
Getting his third start of the season, Pritchard has another strong performance from long distance. The fourth-year guard has played more than 30 minutes in four straight games due to a shoulder injury to Jrue Holiday and drained multiple threes each time, going 16-for-31 (51.6) from three-point range. Pritchard has averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 assists, 4.0 threes and 3.8 boards during that run of increased usage, and while Holiday's shoulder bruise isn't thought to be serious, he could miss another game or two as the Celtics focus on keeping him fully healthy for the postseason.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Moves into starting lineup
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Pritchard will start Friday's game against the Pistons, Sean Grande of NBC Sports Boston reports.
Pritchard will draw his third start of March as the Celtics continue to rest players with the No. 1 seed essentially locked up. Over his last seven appearances (two starts), Pritchard has averaged 12.9 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 28.7 minutes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Shifts back to bench
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Pritchard will retreat to the second unit for Wednesday's game against the Bucks, Sean Grande of NBC Sports Boston reports.
Pritchard had started in each of the last two games that Jrue Holiday (shoulder) has missed; however, he'll be part of the reserves against Milwaukee despite Holiday's absence. Instead, Derrick White will handle point guard duties alongside Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Pritchard should still see a hefty workload behind White on Wednesday.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Provides spark off bench vs. Bucks
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Pritchard chipped in 19 points (7-11 FG, 5-8 3Pt), six rebounds and three assists over 31 minutes in Wednesday's 122-119 win over the Bucks.
Pritchard shifted back to the bench Wednesday with Jayson Tatum returning from a one-game absence. Pritchard provided heavy minutes with Jrue Holiday (shoulder) sidelined, with the former playing particularly well in the second quarter to help Boston enter halftime with a double-digit lead. He's now scored in double digits in six of his last seven games and has hit five threes over his last two appearances. There were plenty of questions in the offseason regarding the Celtics' bench, but Pritchard has carved a decisive role for himself on the top team in the NBA.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Booms for 23 points
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Pritchard totaled 23 points (8-14 FG, 5-9 3Pt, 2-2 FT), two rebounds and seven assists in 38 minutes during Monday's 119-94 win over Detroit.
Pritchard entered Monday's contest averaging just 7.5 points across six contests in which Jrue Holiday (shoulder) has been unavailable this season, but Detroit offered a prime matchup to capitalize on the extra usage available -- especially since Jayson Tatum (ankle) was also inactive. Pritchard continued his trend of being a dangerous shooter at home this season, where he's connecting on 41.8 percent of 4.4 threes per game.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Back with first unit
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Pritchard is starting Monday's game against the Pistons, Sean Grande of NBC Sports Boston reports.
Pritchard is set to start at point guard due to the absence of Jrue Holiday (shoulder). This marks Pritchard's second start of the month, as he finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 30 minutes March 11 in a spot start against the Blazers.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Spark off bench in season-high game
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Pritchard ended with 14 points (6-15 FG, 2-5 3Pt), 13 assists, five rebounds and one steal over 35 minutes in Sunday's 130-104 win over Washington.
Pritchard lifted Boston on the second unit, leading all players in Sunday's contest in assists to go along with a bench-high-tying point total en route to recording the lone double-double in the contest. Pritchard set a new season high in assists, notching his first double-digit total of the year. He has played well off the Celtics' bench as of late, recording 10 or more points in four of his last five outings.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Moves back to bench
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Pritchard isn't in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Jazz.
The Celtics made a last-minute lineup swap, with Sam Hauser starting over Pritchard. Pritchard is averaging 8.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 18.0 minutes across his last five appearances coming off the bench.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Draws spot start
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Pritchard is starting Monday's game against the Trail Blazers.
Pritchard will get the nod at point guard due to Jrue Holiday (knee) being out for Monday's matchup. This marks Pritchard's first start of the 2023-24 campaign.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Well-rounded numbers in start
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Pritchard finished with 11 points (5-11 FG, 1-4 3Pt), eight rebounds and eight assists across 30 minutes in Monday's 121-99 win over the Trail Blazers.
Starting for the first time all season, Pritchard predictably took on a heightened minutes count and was able to come through with a useful all-around line for fantasy managers who streamed him in. Jrue Holiday (knee) has already been cleared to play Tuesday against the Jazz after sitting out Monday to facilitate Pritchard's move into the starting five, but with Jaylen Brown (back) idle for the second leg of the back-to-back set, Pritchard could still have a path to seeing more minutes than usual even if he moves back to the bench.
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Celtics' Payton Pritchard: Shines off bench in blowout win
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Pritchard registered 19 points (8-12 FG, 3-5 3Pt), six rebounds, six assists and two steals over 27 minutes during Sunday's 140-88 win over Golden State.
As you can tell from the score, Sunday's game was a blowout early, allowing Boston to give its bench big minutes. Pritchard led all bench players in scoring while hauling in a half-dozen rebounds and assists to go along with a team-high-tying pair of steals in a well-rounded outing. Pritchard has tallied 15 or more points in eight games this season and recorded at least six boards and six dimes in three appearances.
