BOSTON — Payton Pritchard and Derrick White made Celtics and NBA history on Wednesday night, becoming the first two teammates to both hit nine threes in a game. They also become the first Celtics duo to top 40 points each in the same game in Boston’s 128-118 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at TD Garden.
Pritchard and White had a lengthy chance at adding even more records with Pritchard entering the fourth quarter just one shot shy of tying the franchise record of 11 for most made threes in a game held by Marcus Smart. Yet, both players played within the flow of the offense in the fourth quarter with Pritchard only attempting three shots in the fourth quarter including just one 3-point attempt.
After the win, Al Horford made a point of acknowledging just how rare it is to see both players play within the flow of the game during a historic night.
“What I was most impressed with is, Payton and Derrick just continuing to trust in the team, continuing to move the ball and trying to get the best shot every time,” Horford said. “I felt like they did a good job of that. Sometimes when you get up in those numbers, you wanna press and feed the hot hand and things like that. That’s okay to an extent, but I just felt like they had a good balance of when to shoot, when to pass, when to move it. That’s pretty unique.”
The steady play helped the Celtics withstand a late rally by the Blazers, cutting Boston’s lead to eight points with heady play. White scored a team-high 12 points in the final frame within the flow of the offense while Pritchard looked to set up teammates more amid hard closeouts from the Blazers.
Horford was aware of the franchise record on the bench but did not bring it up over the course of the game.
“There wasn’t any talk,” Horford said. “I was aware of it, and I wanted it for them, absolutely. Those guys, credit to them. They’re trying to play the right way. They’re trying to do the right things. I didn’t bring it up to them, but any chance that I got, I was hoping for them to get there. But it’s pretty unbelievable, because like we said, they just made history.”
There won’t be much time to enjoy the feat for White and Pritchard as the Celtics are back at TD Garden on Thursday night to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
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