Pritchard Makes History in D.C. as Celtics Down Wizards
Payton Pritchard made history in our nation’s capital Sunday night.
He penned his name all over the NBA record books while helping to lead the Boston Celtics to a 112-98 win over the Washington Wizards.
Pritchard’s accomplishments mostly fell into the 3-point department as part of a 5-for-10 effort from long distance.
It marked the third consecutive game that he made at least five triples, after logging seven against Detroit and six against Memphis. He also made at least five in three straight games in October, making him the first player in NBA history to have two separate three-game streaks of at least five makes off the bench in the same season.
That wasn’t even his most impressive accomplishment of the night.
Pritchard’s fourth three of the game marked his 100th make of the season. It took the 26-year-old just 26 games to get there.
That is the fastest any Celtic has ever reached the century mark at the start of the season, and the fastest by any reserve in NBA history.
Kemba Walker previously held the Celtics mark with 100 makes through 27 games at the start of the 2019-20 season. Davis Bertans held the bench record, also with 100 makes through the first 27 games of the 2019-20 season, as a member of the Wizards.
Pritchard became just the second player in the NBA to reach 100 3-pointers this season, joining All-NBA guard Anthony Edwards. No other reserve has made more than 61 threes.
Pritchard has made at least five threes in an NBA-leading 13 games this season. Edwards has done so 11 times, while Jayson Tatum has hit that mark 10 times.
On top of his scoring, Pritchard also helped to make history in the rebounding and assisting categories Sunday night as part of a 15-point, 11-rebound, six-assist effort. He teamed up with Luke Kornet on this one, as they became the first pair of Celtics reserves to log at least 11 rebounds and four assists apiece off the bench in the same game. No other NBA duo had accomplished that feat since 1997 – when Kornet was one year old, and Pritchard was negative one.
Pritchard takes more pride in an accomplishment like that because it shows off his well-roundedness. It’s widely perceived that he is just a shooter, but he wants to prove to the world that he can impact the game in all areas, especially on the defensive end.
“I really want to be known as a two-way player,” he said after the game. “Sometimes I see things that say I’m a defensive liability, and that irks me. Every game, I go out, and I try to prove that narrative wrong. Me trying to be a two-way player is something that I always strive to be.”
Pritchard proved it on the defensive end, both by cleaning the glass and by providing pesky on-ball defense against Washington’s top scorers.
And he certainly showed it on the offensive end per usual, while setting multiple records in the 3-point department.
