Celtics
The basket didn’t count, but Pritchard looks like he’s in midseason form with his heaves.
Just two games into the new season, Payton Pritchard showed he’s already in mid-season form with his last-second heave magic.
With two-tenths of a second remaining in the third quarter of Thursday’s blowout win over the Wizards, Pritchard sank a 3-pointer from just outside the 3-point line on the opposite end of the court.
It was far deeper than a half court shot. More like a 3/4 court shot. But, it didn’t count because referees ruled that the shot was not released in time.
Pritchard is no stranger to buzzer-beater heaves. He hit the longest shot in an NBA Finals Game since 1998 during Game 5 against the Mavericks last summer. The 43-foot buzzer-beater sent the Celtics into the locker room with a 21-point halftime lead in the clinching game of the Finals at TD Garden.
“It was beautiful,” Al Horford said of the Game 5 heave at the time. “He did that and you just kind of take a glance at the other team and it’s one of those that just kind of breaks your spirit. And then, it just kind of fueled us.”
Pritchard also nailed a 34-foot heave with 3.1 seconds left in Game 2 of the Finals last year. It was his only field-goal of the night. Jaylen Brown said Pritchard checked himself into the game just to take that shot.
Coach Joe Mazzulla thanked him for it after the game.
“The humility and the toughness to go in and take that shot within three seconds, that’s the difference between winning and losing, so thank you for taking that shot,” Mazzulla said.
“He has the humility and selflessness to not care if he misses it,” Mazzulla latter added. “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.”
Thursday’s outcome was not in doubt when Pritchard hit the shot. The Celtics were up 27 as the final seconds of the third quarter ticked off the clock. They cruised to an 122-102 win over the Wizards at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.
Pritchard played an expanded role in the win, with fellow sharpshooter Sam Hauser out with a back injury. He finished with 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting from deep.
The Celtics improved to 2-0 with the win and return to action Saturday night against the Raptors at TD Garden.
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