The game everyone in the basketball world had circled on their calendars has come and gone. Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics took on Jaylen Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time on Tuesday night, a matchup with some extra drama tacked on to the already existing Boston-Philly rivalry.
The headlines were dominated by the relationship between Jayson and Jaylen, before and after the game. Though a much smaller narrative, this was also Paul George’s return to Philadelphia for the first
time since being traded.
Ultimately, PG stole the show, scoring a game-high 36 points, knocking down 6 threes, and shooting 14-22 (63.6%) from the floor to lead Boston to a resounding victory, 123-101. George dominated the game, but it was a team victory, and maybe one of the most unspoken heroes of the game is Payton Pritchard.
Despite the final score, this matchup had some ups and downs. Boston took a 16-point lead in the second quarter, which Philly got down to 11 before halftime. They came out with a strong push in the third quarter too, tying the game at 76 with 4 minutes left in the period. They were never able to break the seal, though, thanks in big part to Payton.
Philly was on a 7-0 run before taking a timeout to give Dean Wade a breather after he took a stinger fighting through a screen. Coming out of the break, Pritch was being guarded by VJ Edgecombe. Boston, wanting to give him a more advantageous matchup, had Tatum and Mitchell Robinson set a couple screens for him at the near the logo, putting Payton in position to attack Joel Embiid coming downhill. With Embiid backing up to stop the drive, Pritchard pulled up and knocked down a wide-open three, nothing but nylon.
Tyrese Maxey responded with a deep three of his own on the other end, tying the game back up at 79 apiece. The Philly crowd was rising to the moment, fueling the push from the Sixers, and the Celtics wanted to stem it.
They ran the same action which freed Pritchard up the first time, this time with Maxey taking the defensive assignment. Tatum was able to screen well enough to give Payton some breathing room, and despite a late closeout from Maxey, Payton used some nice touch and a little bit of Celtic magic to nail another three, a shot that went off the back rim, bounced off the top of the backboard, and found its way through the net, taking all the air out of the moment for the Sixers faithful.
Those two plays from Pritchard started off what was a 29-to-6 run over the next 7.5 minutes. Within that run, Boston hit nine straight threes, four of which Payton contributed himself, and one which he assisted. That run allowed the Celtics to coast for the rest of the game, Nick Nurse making the decision to pull his starters with 5:35 left in the fourth.
Payton was responsible for 18 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds, and a steal, all without committing a single turnover. He had a steady hand throughout, shooting 7-15 (46.7%) from the floor and 4-8 (50%) from three. Pritchard also ended the night as a game-high +26.
There’s no question that the new buddy duo of PG and J were the stars of the show, but Boston doesn’t get the win without Payton’s contributions. He rose to the moment, and played off of the Celtics stars, giving the game exactly what it needed, when it needed it.
Boston will continue to rely on Pritchard to be a vital part of their offense as they look to build upon the victory and maintain their new spot atop the Eastern Conference.
