Payton Pritchard’s buzzer-beating three-pointer is the play of the night

Payton Pritchard solely scored three factors in Sunday night time’s Sport 2 win over the Mavericks.

However they had been the largest three factors of the night time, coming within the type of a quintessential 34-foot heave on the finish of the third-quarter buzzer.

The Mavericks had been within the midst of closing out the quarter on a 7-0 run. to chop a 13-point Celtics result in 6. when Pritchard checked in for the primary time within the second half, with simply 3.3 seconds remaining within the interval.

Subsequently, as he has many instances this season, Pritchard zoomed up the courtroom to try to beat the buzzer. On the brightest stage, he sunk the deep three and broke into celebration along with his teammates.

“I used to be simply prepared for that second,” Pritchard informed NBC Sports activities Boston’s Abby Chin after the sport. “Joe put me in with three seconds left. I like these moments. I stay for them. So, I took full benefit.”

Joe Mazzulla deemed Pritchard’s shot the play of the sport. In his postgame presser, he was first requested about Tatum’s playmaking, and as a substitute pivoted to deliver up the heave.

“The play of the sport can’t go unnoticed. The humility of our staff, is Payton’s shot on the finish of the quarter,” Mazzulla stated. “You see guys across the league go up on that shot or faux like they need to take it, in order that their numbers don’t get tousled. He takes pleasure in taking that, and that’s profitable basketball. In order that’s the firstly.”

Pritchard had sat out your entire third quarter and was scoreless within the Finals when he tried that shot. However he had already made a few large performs in Sport 2 – grabbing an offensive rebound over a number of Mavericks frontcourt gamers, forcing Kyrie Irving right into a tough miss, stopping Derreck Full of life II from getting off a clear look.

He had solely performed 8 minutes by means of the primary three quarters earlier than checking in for that shot. Joe Mazzulla stated he subbed him in and the intention was for Pritchard to make a play, however Jaylen Brown stated he believed checking into the sport was the results of Pritchard’s personal initiative.

“Man, that was unimaginable,” Brown stated of Pritchard’s shot. “I heard he, like, checked himself within the sport, too. Like, he’s been hitting these photographs all season lengthy. If anyone has been being attentive to it, he’s made I don’t know what number of of these, no less than three or 4. So tonight he made it within the largest of moments.”

The shot got here on the heels of a collection of Celtics’ errors. Within the last minutes, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, and Jrue Vacation every fouled a special Mavericks participant and despatched them to the road, serving to gas Dallas’ comeback.

“The way you end quarters is large,” Brown stated. “We didn’t end that quarter nice. We bought loads of open appears to be like, we gave up some. There was some dangerous fouls. One in every of them was mine — I fouled Luka on the again reduce, after which me and JT bought combined communication on the swap. Luka had a 3. We bought to complete quarters higher. However, Payton checks himself within the sport and covers us a bit of bit by hitting the big-time shot.”

Jrue Vacation had an analogous rendition of how the closing seconds of the third quarter transpired, taking possession for his personal errors and describing Pritchard’s make as essential.

“Effectively, first, I fouled Kyrie and put him on the free-throw line and I bought my third foul, so Payton got here in for me,” Vacation stated. “I didn’t need to foul him, however I’m sort of glad that I did. The vitality that Payton brings, him simply having the balls to take that shot. He’s completed it so many instances this 12 months, the place he’s had the braveness to take it and he’s knocked it. He has been enormous for us.”

In Could, Pritchard mirrored on his tendency to take low-percentage heaves on the buzzer the place others may not so as to enhance their three-point proportion.

“It’s a basketball play,” Pritchard stated. “We should always take these photographs, even when it’s full courtroom. What if that goes in?”

After Sport 2, Mazzulla stated he considered the shot as a broader reflection of the staff’s — and Pritchard’s — selflessness.

“He has the humility and selflessness to not care if he misses it,” Mazzulla stated. “He practices it and has an understanding of how a shot like that may influence the top of 1 / 4 and it might influence the run {that a} staff makes. So that they had went on a run to finish the quarter, and I assumed that shot sort of gave us a bit of little bit of poise and a bit of little bit of momentum that we wanted heading into the fourth quarter. That was big-time.”

Payton Pritchard is now averaging 7 factors on 44% capturing this postseason, together with 40.8% from three. Whereas he usually hasn’t put up large scoring numbers, he’s solidified himself as a dependable backup level guard who has made numerous key performs all through the playoff run.

However maybe none was as large because the play he made within the closing seconds of Sport 2’s third quarter. If the Celtics are capable of put away the Mavericks, Pritchard’s heave will grow to be a staple play within the Banner 18 documentary.

“That’s what Payton Pritchard does,” Derrick White stated. “Should you watch us late clock, he doesn’t draw back from that second. You simply love Payton. You’re keen on competing with him. It was a big-time shot.”