‘I knew it was a big shot’: Payton Pritchard’s offseason workouts set the scene for Game 3’s heroics
That is what happened during one of the most critical possessions of Boston’s 108-100 win over the 76ers in Game 3 of this first-round playoff series Friday.
The Celtics led, 100-98, when Jayson Tatum was hounded by VJ Edgecombe as he dribbled near the right arc with five seconds left on the shot clock and about 1:25 left in the game.
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Edgecombe poked the ball away from Tatum, forcing him to take an extra step to retrieve it before trying to reset. Now, just 3.5 seconds remained, and the Celtics appeared to be in trouble.
Pritchard was lurking as a safety valve in the right corner, and Tatum fired him the ball. Just 2.3 seconds remained on the shot clock when he caught it.
“I was aware [of the clock],” Pritchard said Saturday. “I looked around, I said, ‘Dang, JT, you threw me a grenade.’ I like grenades though. So, I live for those moments.”
The lack of time limited Pritchard’s options, but he was unbothered. The moment he caught the ball he stole a quick look at the shot clock. Then he relied on his internal timer to handle the rest.
As the 6-foot-8-inch Kelly Oubre Jr. closed out on him, 6-1 Pritchard juked slightly to his right, just enough to disrupt Oubre’s balance and create the small opening required. Pritchard took one hard dribble to his left, stepped back and poured in the game’s biggest shot.
“I think it’s an ability to almost check the clock within a small window of right when I get the ball,” Pritchard said. “Or analyzing, knowing, like, when JT was dribbling, I could tell that there was three seconds left, so when he swung it, I knew it’s almost like a clock in my mind of like how much time, if I had one to two dribbles, or something like that.
“So, in that instance, I knew I only had about one dribble, pump fake, side-step. So it’s the ability to see the clock, and then just have a clock in your mind.”
When the ball slid through the net, the raucous crowd was instantly deflated. Pritchard filled their silence by barking his own expletive-filled celebration to no one in particular.
“I knew it was a big shot,” Pritchard said. “It was needed in the moment, but hopefully I can hit more like that.”
Battling time is nothing new for Pritchard, who has become known for his late-quarter long-range heaves, none bigger than the halfcourt shot he drilled in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Mavericks.
His attempts late in the shot clock are generally less dramatic, but they arrive more frequently. During the regular season, Pritchard made 23 above-the-break 3-pointers with four seconds or less remaining on the shot clock, second only to Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
“I’ve been playing this game for so long,” Pritchard said. “I know how quick my moves are.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
