Properly… that was a basketball sport.
The Celtics’ prime six all sat for Friday’s penultimate common season contest towards the Charlotte Hornets, which meant it was time for the Bus 1 Boys to do their factor.
Whereas a majority of Boston’s gamers on this contest weren’t common rotational guys, we did get an prolonged take a look at Payton Pritchard as the first ball handler. Pritchard drew a double group and located Luke Kornet for the Celtics’ first bucket, then proceeded to rack up his group’s subsequent seven factors, scoring on all three ranges.
It was additionally good to see Jaden Springer be aggressive off the bounce, as he obtained into the field rating early. At 21 years previous, Springer’s expertise are nonetheless fairly uncooked, however his athleticism is unimaginable to disregard each time he steps on the court docket. Talking of gifted younger gamers, followers obtained an early take a look at Jordan Walsh on this contest as effectively, as Boston’s rookie drilled his first NBA three.
Vasilije Micić has been a little bit of a late-season revelation for Charlotte, and he continued to impress early on this contest alongside rookie Brandon Miller.
Pritchard was by far one of the best participant on the ground over the opening 12 minutes. The 6’1 guard had 13 factors and 5 dimes, whereas Kornet contributed 10 factors because the Celtics led 30-24.
Payton Pritchard’s 13-point 1st quarter tonight was the highest-scoring opening body of his profession.
— Celtics Stats (@celtics_stats) April 13, 2024
Oshae Brissett flashed his trademark hustle on the offensive glass to open the second quarter, battling for a troublesome rebound which resulted in a simple layup. The athletic wing proceeded to wrestle a bit on the free throw line over the subsequent few possessions, however he caught with it and was rewarded with a simple putback layup.
JD Davison and Neemias Queta have been dominating within the G-League for the Maine Celtics, they usually flashed a few of that established rapport through a pleasant pick-and-roll which resulted in a Queta layup.
Pritchard checked again in and instantly picked up the place he left off, placing Charlotte within the spin cycle in transition earlier than discovering Queta for the jam. Payton proceeded to hit a pair of triples, flashing each software within the equipment.
Easy execution and defensive depth methodically opened up an enormous 69-43 lead for Boston on the half. Pritchard poured in 23 of these to associate with 9 assists, because the Hornets merely had no reply for him.
That was sufficient for Steve Clifford to tug his core gamers, rolling with a brand new lineup to open the second half. Identical to the start of the sport, Springer made an affect on each ends of the ground, producing his personal quick break slam off the steal.
Pritchard continued to provide Charlotte complications, getting nearly something he wished each in transition and out of half-court units. The rest of the third-quarter was a observe meet, because the Celtics merely continued to run their offense and hold the Hornets at bay. With 12 minutes left to play, Boston led 94-76, and Pritchard had already racked up a career-high 31 factors.
That will be it for Payton, who checked out for the final time with 31 and 11. Mazzulla opted to run the double-big lineup that includes Queta and Kornet for the second stint of the evening, they usually linked up as soon as once more for a pleasant bucket.
It wasn’t essentially the most environment friendly evening for Hauser, however he continued to place up pictures, racking up 16 factors with 4 triples. Drew Peterson went on a bit of run, hitting a pair of threes earlier than capping off a pleasant Davison dime with a dunk.
Each side remained in cruise management for the remainder of the competition, with the Celtics in the end successful 131-98, their 63rd victory of the season.
Subsequent up, the Celtics host the Washington Wizards for his or her closing sport of the common season on Sunday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
