Celtics
“That’s what Payton Pritchard does.”
He did it again.
After burning the Mavericks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals with a last-second, 34-foot heave at the end of the 3rd quarter, Celtics guard Payton Pritchard once again sent TD Garden into a frenzy on Monday night — hitting a 49-foot shot at the buzzer to end a dominant first half for Boston in Game 5.
Pritchard’s heave from midcourt gave Boston a commanding 67-46 lead over the Mavericks — putting Boston just two quarters away from its sought-after 18th championship.
You can watch Pritchard’s buzzer-beater below:
Pritchard, who did not see the court for the first 19:56 of the first half, has developed into a half-court specialist for Boston over the last few seasons — with the shifty guard piling up his career highlight reel with multiple halfcourt heaves that have sailed into twine.
At this point, even other NBA players are not doubting Pritchard’s ability to sink those shots.
“That’s what Payton Pritchard does,” Derrick White said after Bostn’s win over Dallas in Game 2. “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.”
“He has the humility and selflessness to not care if he misses it,” Joe Mazzulla added of Pritchard after Game 2. “He 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.”
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