Payton Pritchard doesn鈥檛 care much about what his line in the stat sheet looks like, which is one of the many things that endears him to Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics.
He was sent into Game 2 of the NBA Finals with 3.3 seconds remaining in the third quarter, with one mission: Take a desperation 3-pointer before time expires. It鈥檚 a low-percentage shot, and it鈥檚 no secret that plenty of NBA players won鈥檛 take them because it can hurt their stats.
Pritchard takes them happily. And this time, it worked.
just inside the midcourt stripe, bounced off the backboard and in for a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter. They were Pritchard鈥檚 only three points of Game 2, and they were an unforgettable part of Boston鈥檚 over the Dallas Mavericks.
鈥淚 think the play of the game can鈥檛 go unnoticed, the humility of our team, is Payton鈥檚 shot at the end of the quarter,鈥� said Mazzulla, the Celtics鈥� coach. 鈥淵ou see guys around the league pass up on that shot or fake like they want to take it, so that their numbers don鈥檛 get messed up. He takes pride in taking that, and that鈥檚 winning basketball.鈥�
The play was one that the Celtics call for Pritchard. He caught the inbounds pass while building a head of steam, took three dribbles, stopped just in time and let it fly. It went in, he started jumping around like a madman and a sold-out crowd at TD Garden followed suit.
鈥淭he energy that Payton brings, him just having the (courage) to take that shot 鈥� it was definitely a confidence boost,鈥� Celtics guard Jrue Holiday said.
According to SportRadar, Pritchard is one of five players in the NBA with at least 13 attempts from 30 or more feet in the final 3 seconds of a period this season. Indiana鈥檚 Tyrese Haliburton went 5 for 20 in those moments, Denver鈥檚 Nikola Jokic went 1 for 16, Milwaukee鈥檚 Damian Lillard went 4 for 14 and Dallas鈥� Luka Doncic is 0 for 14 on those tries.
They鈥檙e all superstars, all max-contract guys who don鈥檛 have to worry if their 3-point percentage takes a tiny hit.
Pritchard 鈥� now 2 for 13 on such heaves this season 鈥� isn鈥檛 a max guy. Not even close. He sacrifices the numbers anyway, and that's what Mazzulla was raving about after Game 2.
鈥淚t shows belief he put me in in that situation, knowing I could hit that shot.鈥� Pritchard said. 鈥淭o believe in me, it means a lot as a player.鈥�
And it wasn't some throwaway moment, either.
Dallas had just cut a double-digit deficit down to six, a very manageable margin going into the final 12 minutes. Pritchard's shot wasn't just three big points; it breathed life into Boston going into that closing quarter.
鈥淗e has the humility and selflessness to not care if he misses it,鈥� Mazzulla said. 鈥淗e practices it and has an understanding of how a shot like that can impact the end of a quarter and it can impact the run that a team makes. So, they had went on a run to end the quarter, and I thought that shot kind of gave us a little bit of poise and a little bit of momentum that we needed heading into the fourth quarter. That was big-time.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
