BOSTON — Jaylen Brown was getting dressed at his locker after Game 2 he brought up Payton Pritchard’s 3-point buzzer beater to the point guard sitting a couple stalls away.
It did not take him long to make a notable comparison, quickly bringing up the name Jordan.
Celtics fans remember that moment well from the 2022 NBA Finals when Jordan Poole hit a buzzer-beater 3-point heave in the first quarter of Game 6 to help fuel a 21-0 run and an eventual series-clinching win.
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Pritchard has provided a similar spark all season long with a number of heave makes in critical spots for Boston. On Sunday night, the point guard hadn’t played a minute in the entire second half when Joe Mazzulla elected to insert him into the game. Brown joked that he had heard Pritchard had inserted himself into the game with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. He covered 60 feet easily before time expired and banked in the 3-point make to push Boston’s lead back up to nine.
The point guard hit just one shot in his 12 minutes during the Celtics’ 105-98 win over the Mavericks but it was praised as the shot of the night by Joe Mazzulla.
“I think the play of the game can’t go unnoticed, the humility of our team, is Payton’s shot at the end of the quarter,” Mazzulla said. “You see guys around the league pass up on that shot or fake like they want to take it, so that their numbers don’t get messed up. He takes pride in taking that, and that’s winning basketball. So that’s the first and foremost.”
Pritchard was also praised by his teammates for his willingness to take heaves all year long, a trait that several former Celtics did not share (Malcolm Brogdon says hello) last season.
“That’s what Payton Pritchard does,” Derrick White said. “If you watch us late clock, he doesn’t shy away from that moment. That was a big-time shot, kind of got us momentum. You just love Payton. You love competing with him. It was a big-time shot.”
The shot put an end to a 7-0 Mavericks run to close out the third quarter, giving Boston a comfortable nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Mavericks would trim that deficit to no closer than five points in Boston’s win.
“The energy that Payton brings, him just having the balls to take that shot. He’s done it so many times this year,” Jrue Holiday added. “Where he’s had the courage to take it and he’s knocked it has been huge for us. So it was definitely a confidence boost and really just boosted us for the rest of that game.
It’s been a long wait for Pritchard to get back to these moments after waiting behind Brogdon and a deep Celtics guard rotation last season. Brad Stevens showed faith in him by moving on from Brogdon and Marcus Smart and giving him a four-year extension before the season began.
After delivering steady play for the team for much of the postseason in Kristaps Porzingis’ absence, Pritchard has seen a reduced role during the Finals. However, his impact was on full display when he got his chance in Game 2, helping the Celtics get one step closer to their first NBA title in 16 years.
