Payton Pritchard and Derrick White are now etched in Boston Celtics history forever. The unlikely duo exploded for the shorthanded Celtics in Wednesday night’s win over the Trail Blazers, becoming the first Celtics teammates to each score at least 40 points in the same game.
That feat had never been accomplished before in the franchise’s 79-year, illustrious history. Not by Larry Bird and Kevin McHale. Not by Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker or Kevin Garnett. And not by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. (At least not yet.)
That honor belongs to Pritchard and White, who both set career highs in points in the 128-118 victory at TD Garden. Pritchard erupted for 43 points off the Boston bench on 14-of-20 shooting, including a ridiculous 10-of-16 from three-point land. White poured in 41 points on his own, hitting 14 of his 26 shots and nine of his 17 attempts from downtown.
That output more than made up for the absences of Tatum (shoulder impingement), Kristaps Porzingis (illness), and Jrue Holiday (mallet finger). It also offset a bit of an off night for Brown, who score 18 points off 7-of-23 shooting as he received a lot of the defensive attention to start the game.
“They were tremendous,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said of his dynamic duo after the win. “I think with guys out and playing against a really good Portland team, we were going to need to have guys step up, and the way those two played showed a lot about who they are. They do a lot of the dirty stuff when we’re fully healthy. They do a lot of things for the team, and to have a night like this where those two can show what they are capable of was big for us. So we’re lucky to have them, and it was a lot of fun to watch them do that.”
The Blazers quickly realized they had to lock in on Pritchard and White, but couldn’t do anything to keep the duo from sinking shot after shot after shot. Two of Pritchard’s threes came from 29 feet out, one of which drew a “Come on!” from fill-in play-by-play man Mike Tirico on the NBC Sports Boston broadcast. White barely touched iron as he was completely locked in from downtown.
Pritchard, White make history for Celtics
Becoming the Celtics’ first 40-40 duo wasn’t the only history Pritchard and White made Wednesday night. Pritchard’s 43 points are the most ever scored by a Celtics player off the bench in regulation. Bird scored 47 points off the bench against the Milwaukee Bucks in 1985, but that game went to overtime.
Pritchard also joined Bird and Todd Day, who scored 41 off the bench for Boston in 1995, as the only three players in Celtics history to score 40 or more points off the pine.
The combined 19 threes from Pritchard and White are the most ever by a pair of teammates in a game. No teammates had made nine apiece in the history of the three-point shot.
“I’m super happy for Payton,” White said after the win. “Someone who works so hard and just plays the right way every time out there, it’s great to have that night along with him and have both of us just trying to play the right way and doing what it takes to win.”
The Celtics needed those deep strikes against a pesky Blazers team that put up a strong fight early and then wouldn’t go away in the fourth quarter. White made three straight triples in a 90-second span in the second quarter, with his final three of that stretch tying the game at 51-51. A Pritchard three with 2:46 left in the half put the Celtics on top, 54-53, and Pritchard then found White for a deep strike off a Brown steal to build the lead to four points.
That White flurry started a 21-8 run by Boston to close the half, and the Celtics took a 66-55 edge into the break. Then Pritchard took over in the third.
Pritchard scored 19 of his points in the third quarter, connecting on five of his six threes and six of his seven shots overall. Boston outscored Portland 36-27 in the frame to take control of the game.
Then it was White’s turn to take over in the fourth quarter. He scored a dozen points in the final frame to hold off a late push by Portland.
Pritchard’s unselfishness also played a big part in Boston securing the victory.
Pritchard passes up chance at more Celtics history
With 10 makes from downtown, Pritchard became just the fourth Celtics player to accomplish such a feat, joining Marcus Smart, Brown, and Sam Hauser. Pritchard is the first to do so off the bench.
Smart owns the Celtics record for the most made threes in a game with 11. Pritchard had a chance at matching and passing that mark, but attempted just one three over the final 12 minutes.
Why not go for the record? The Blazers locked in on Pritchard, and with the lead down to single digits at one point, the reserve guard didn’t want to put himself ahead of the team.
“The biggest thing was just about getting the W,” Pritchard said. “They made a little push, so I wasn’t going to force a look that wasn’t there. That’s disrespectful to the game, disrespectful to my teammates.”
Pritchard was far more than just a three-point deadeye on Wednesday. He also pulled down 10 rebounds to lead the Celtics and dished out five assists. He’s just the third player in NBA history to record 10 rebounds, five assists, and 10 made threes in a game, joining James Harden and Damian Lillard.
Wednesday night’s performance was just the latest entry into Pritchard’s push for the Sixth Man of the Year award. But in true Celtics fashion, it sounds like the reserve guard would much rather hoist another Larry O’Brien Trophy this summer.
Matt GeaganMatthew Geagan is a sports producer for CBS Boston. He has been part of the WBZ sports team for nearly 20 years. He moved over to the web in 2012 and has covered all the highs (and a few lows) in Boston sports.
