Pritchard, White write pieces of Boston, NBA history
BOSTON—Payton Pritchard and Derrick White have been mostly glue guys during their time with the Celtics, filling in gaps and providing sparks when necessary.
But with starters Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis all sitting out on Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the duo raised their games to a level never before seen in NBA history.
Pritchard scored a career-high 43 points and had a career-best 10 three-pointers to lead the short-handed Celtics past the Portland Trail Blazers, 128-118.
White added career highs with 41 points and nine threes, making Pritchard and White the first Celtics duo to score 40 or more points in the same game and the first duo in league history with nine or more three-pointers each in a game.
Pritchard also had 10 rebounds, making him the first player in NBA history with at least 40 points, 10 three-pointers and 10 rebounds in a regulation game. Damian Lillard and James Harden did it in overtime games.
“I think the work over time has built up to supreme confidence,” Pritchard said. “Then having my teammates and coaches to have the confidence in me now to allow me to have nights like this. … It just builds and builds and finally you see it on nights like this.”
Even sweeter? The Oregon native did it against the team he grew up watching.
“It’s always fun playing the Blazers,” Pritchard said.
White said hitting three consecutive threes in the second quarter is what got him going.
“Credit to my teammates who kept finding me in good positions and I was able to stay hot,” he said.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the night Pritchard and White had were a testament to their work ethic.
“They were tremendous,” Mazzulla said. “The way those two played shows a lot about who they are. … We’re lucky to have them and it was a lot of fun to watch them do that.”
Meanwhile, Harden delivered another 50-point game Wednesday night, putting on a throwback performance in the Clippers’ new arena.
The All-Star guard reached that total for the first time with Los Angeles and the 24th time in his career, pulling within one of Kobe Bryant for third-most in NBA history.
Obama watching
Harden’s big night—with former President Barack Obama sitting next to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer behind the baseline—carried Los Angeles to a 123-115 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Harden said he had met Obama before and they had a good relationship.
“So it was pretty cool to see him at the game,” Harden said. “Probably the reason why I played so well.”
Harden already had three 40-point games this season, but he hadn’t been able to reach the 50-point plateau that always seemed in sight back when he was leading the league in scoring three times with the Houston Rockets from 2017-20.
And it came at a perfect time for his desperate team, which blew a 23-point lead on Tuesday against Phoenix and was without Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell on the second night of back-to-back games.
Harden got the Clippers quickly back on track with 23 points in the first quarter and went on to finish 14 of 24 from the field, making six three-pointers and going 16 for 20 at the free-throw line.
Harden played 38 minutes but said the heavy workload at age 35 didn’t take a lot out of him.
“I can do it. It’s not like it’s my first time,” he said.
