Pritchard scored 29 points, 22 in the first half, crushing the Kings with short jumpers or long 3-point looks in notching his 15th game of 20 or more points. He began his command early with an alley-oop to Neemias Queta, the former King who returned after missing Wednesday’s loss with an illness to collect 10 points and 15 rebounds.
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Brown was an early scratch with knee and hamstring issues, meaning the Celtics would have to rely on their depth to come back from Wednesday’s 117-106 drubbing by the Hawks. The result was six scorers in double figures, a combined 17 assists from Pritchard and Derrick White, and a much-needed victory.
Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots looks up to see himself on the Jumbotron during the first quarter of the Celtics’ victory over the visiting Kings.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
“I feel like I did a good job of making the right reads,” Pritchard said. “Getting to my spots. Reading the driving lanes, I thought I made good passing reads. Almost like a QB, you’re always making the right read, taking what the defense gives you. I thought I did that at a high level in the first half.”
Neemias Queta (88) puts up a reverse layup during the Celtics’ home win Friday night.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
The Kings went on a 15-7 run to begin the second quarter to slice the Celtics’ lead to 47-40. But Sacramento would score just 6 points in the final 8:12 of the period as the Celtics put the game away with a 19-point run.
Sacramento was coming off a buzzer-beating 113-111 loss in Philadelphia the night before and rested Domantas Sabonis. Meanwhile, ex-Celtic Dennis Schröder and DeMar DeRozan were a combined 3-for-21 shooting for 10 points. Zach LaVine kept the Kings competitive in the first half and finished with 17 points. He did not play the final 18 minutes.
Boston improved to 3-1 without Brown in the lineup, with the lone loss the last-second defeat at Indiana on Jan. 12. The Celtics have relied on their depth and players such as Baylor Scheierman getting opportunities without their All-Star. Scheierman, making his fourth start, tallied 16 points along with five rebounds in 31 minutes.
“Just trying to bounce back,” Scheierman said of the team’s mentality after Wednesday. “I’m just trying to make the most out of every opportunity I’ve gotten and with that comes more trust. I’m just trying to impact the game in whatever way necessary.”
After being held to a season-low-tying nine 3-pointers against the Hawks, the Celtics bounced back with 18, including four from Scheierman and five from Pritchard. White, meanwhile, attempted just seven shots for 7 points, but added a game-high 9 assists and 2 blocks.
The visiting Kings had a hard time denying Derrick White and the Celtics on Friday. Barry Chin/Globe Staff
With the Eastern Conference race tightening in recent days, the Celtics needed a victory to remain tied for the second seed with the Knicks.
The sidelining of Brown added intrigue to the matchup because the Kings pushed the 76ers to the brink the night before. But they had little left for the Celtics, shooting 37.3 percent from the field and committing 16 turnovers, several of them unforced.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla thought his team responded without its leading scorer.
“It’s important that [Brown] get the rest that he needs and it’s important that we continue to develop and grow as a team,” Mazzulla said. “Multiple things come out of that. I always like when some of those guys sit because they get to see the game from a different perspective. It builds affirmation in the guys that we have and regardless of who’s in and who’s out, the expectation is to win and that’s something we’ve been really good at over the few years here.”
The second half was an offensive struggle for the Celtics as the Kings used two centers and clogged the paint. The result was 14-for-50 shooting and 18 missed 3-pointers. Despite the Celtics’ lack of scoring, the Kings only managed to cut the lead to 16 — with 21.6 seconds left.
Instead of dribbling the clock out, Boucher, who hasn’t played since November and could be on the trade block, swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer, prompting Westbrook to approach him afterward.
“They were just upset for shooting the last shot,” Pritchard said.
Said Mazzulla: “I didn’t see [the altercation]. But what are you going to do?”
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
