Celtics flatten 76ers to go up 3-1, Payton Pritchard gets new NBA Playoffs record

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images attach

Celtics flatten 76ers to go up 3-1, Payton Pritchard gets new NBA Playoffs record originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Deep benches mean deeper runs in the NBA Playoffs. The Boston Celtics led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continue to prove this true after their 128-96 demolition of the Philadelphia 76ers. In fact, Coach Joe Mazzulla's squad is the only Eastern Conference team to have a 3-1 lead in the postseason so far. All of that was due to the heroics of Payton Pritchard and a historic performance.

Pritchard rises into stardom and leads Celtics to 3-1 lead over 76ers​

Coach Joe Mazzulla may have made Payton Pritchard come off the Celtics bench but he was entrusted with 35 minutes of playing time for Game 4 against the 76ers. Why did the Celtics head coach do this? It was because Pritchard had the hot hand. He finished the game with 32 points by going 50% from three-point range, 57% from the field, and 100% from the free throw line.

Pritchard notched a fair amount of records because of his Game 4 performance. He joins greats like Kevin McHale and Eddie House as the only three Celtics to score more than 30 points after coming off the bench. If looked at closely, Pritchard also just recorded the second-most NBA Playoffs points from a bench player in Celtics history with his 32 points, per StatMuse.

It was not just in getting the ball to sink down the net that Pritchard excelled. Coach Mazzulla enabled him to get the ball to other Celtics like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. This prowess in facilitating the offense to toy with the 76ers got him five assists.

Defensively, the Celtics also saw him put up an insane performance. He grabbed four rebounds against way bigger people like Adem Bona and Joel Embiid. Pritchard rounded it all out with a steal.

Coach Mazzulla is lucky to have Pritchard on the Celtics. After years of playing in the NBA Playoffs, he has evolved to become one of the best scorers in the postseason and it is why they are a win away over the 76ers from reaching the second round.

More Celtics News:​

• Celtics' Jayson Tatum equals Larry Bird, LeBron James in historic NBA Playoffs feat​

• Celtics vanquish 76ers, Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum break rare NBA Playoffs records​

• Celtics vs. 76ers series schedule, TV channels, scores​

Continue reading...