Celtics-Hornets takeaways: Pritchard leads C’s reserves to dominant win

[ad_1]

Celtics-Hornets takeaways: Pritchard leads C’s reserves to dominant win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics’ reserves got a chance to shine in Friday night’s showdown with the Charlotte Hornets, and they took advantage of their opportunity.

With the top six out for the penultimate game of their regular season, the C’s went with a starting lineup of Payton Pritchard, Svi Mykhailuk, Jaden Springer, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet. Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, JD Davison, and Drew Peterson were recalled from Maine to get minutes on the big stage.

The “Stay Ready” group put on an offensive clinic in their 131-98 rout of the Hornets. Pritchard led the way with a career-high 31 points. Hauser, Kornet, and Queta chipped in 16 apiece. All 11 Celtics scored in the lopsided victory.

The C’s will wrap up their regular season against the Washington Wizards on “Mike Gorman Day” this Sunday at TD Garden. The game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. ET right here on NBC Sports Boston.

First, here are three takeaways from Friday’s action.

Payton Pritchard plays the starring role

On many other NBA rosters, Pritchard would be a regular starter. And a good one at that.

The Celtics’ prized bench guard showed his potential again in his fourth start of the season. Leading the reserves with the top six sidelined, Pritchard went off for 13 points and five assists in the first quarter. It was the highest-scoring opening frame of his NBA career and according to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, he became the first C’s player since Isaiah Thomas in Jan. 2017 with 13 points and five assists in a first quarter.

Pritchard scored or assisted on 24 of the Celtics’ first 30 points. He stayed hot in the second quarter to enter the half with 23 points and nine assists. He’s the first Celtic in the play-by-play era with those numbers in the first half of a game, per Dick Lipe.

Pritchard is the first Celtic in the play-by-play era to have at least 23 points and 9 assists in the first half of a game. The only other player to put up those numbers this season is Luka Doncic.

— Dick Lipe (@DickLipe) April 13, 2024

Pritchard finished with a career-high…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-hornets-takeaways-pritchard-leads-015458207.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-04-13 01:57:09

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.