Key Moment
Boston’s bench showed tremendous poise down the stretch Sunday night, carrying the team to a 114-106 win over Philadelphia in its preseason opener.
A small-ball combination of Payton Pritchard, Dalano Banton, Sam Hauser, Lamar Stevens, and Oshae Brissett closed out the contest with tremendous hustle and had the TD Garden crowd on its feet like it was a playoff game.
Boston trailed 101-97 at the 5:14 mark, which was when coach Joe Mazzulla made his only substation of the frame: Stevens in for Luke Kornet. That seemed to be a turning point, as the C’s went on a 17-5 run from there on out.
After the sub, Pritchard knocked down back-to-back layups, including an and-1, which put Boston ahead 102-101. Brissett then banked in a put-back layup, followed by a Stevens putback dunk, and the C’s rode that momentum right to the finish.
Up three with 50 seconds remaining, the Celtics turned to their fourth-quarter hero. Pritchard confidently took his place behind the 3-point arc and canned a step-back 3 to put the nail in the coffin.
Key Player
Payton Pritchard started off the 2023-24 preseason right where he left off at the end of last season: on fire.
Pritchard, who closed out the 2022-23 regular season with his first career triple-double, led all scorers Sunday night, finishing with 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range all in 23 minutes off the bench.
Sixteen of those points came during the fourth quarter; if he hadn’t taken over in crunch time, Boston never would’ve won the game.
Pritchard also dished out four assists, grabbed two rebounds, and snagged one steal.
The fourth-year point guard will have an opportunity to snag some significant backcourt minutes this season due to the offseason departures of Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon, and Sunday night served as a great indication of his eagerness.
Box Score Nuggets
- Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 26 points while making 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
- Jaylen Brown logged 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field.
- Kristaps Porzingis scored seven of Boston's first 11 points. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds in his first appearance as a Celtic.
- Jayson Tatum logged a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Tatum also dished out five assists, leading the team in that category.
- Boston had a 62-54 advantage on the glass.
- Oshae Brissett logged a game-best plus/minus rating of plus-14.
- Boston made 34 trips to the free-throw line to Philly's 19.
- Tyrese Maxey (24 points) was the only Sixers player who scored more than 14 points.
- Both teams dished out 19 assists.
Quote of the Night
“When you’ve got fans like that, especially for a preseason game, it’s unbelievable.”
– Payton Pritchard after receiving MVP chants in the fourth quarter.