The C's guard has been instant offense since moving to the bench.
The Boston Celtics rolled over the Chicago Bulls 124-105 on Wednesday night, the final game before the NBA's All-Star break. The Celtics hit the break at 35-19 and in second place in the Eastern Conference, which is a huge accomplishment considering they traded Jrue Holliday and Kristaps Porzingis this offseason and haven't had Jayson Tatum on the court all year.
In that win over the Bulls, Payton Pritchard continued to serve as instant offense. Coming off the bench again, Pritchard scored 26 points in 34 minutes. He was 11-of-18 from the floor and 3-of-8 from three. He also delivered eight assists and pulled down five rebounds.
Furthermore, the guard joined a small list in some fun Celtics history.
Celtics with multiple 25-5-5 games off the bench:
Payton Pritchard
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Gordon Hayward
That's an elite list full of some of the best players in team history.
Bird is a Hall of Famer and a 12-time All-Star. A 10-time All-NBA selection, a three-time NBA champion and a two-time Finals MVP, he averaged 24.3 ppg for his career.
McHale is also a Hall of Famer. A 13-year veteran, he earned seven All-Star nods, six All-Defensive team honors, two Sixth Man of the Year awards and three NBA titles.
As for Pritchard, he's averaging 17.2 ppg this season to go along with 5.3 assists. He's shooting 35.6 percent from three-point range and 85.6 percent at the foul line. He's been a huge part of the C's success in the wake of Tatum's absence and the offseason trades.
Also on the Celtics front...
--Ron Harper Jr. participated in the NBA's "Rising Stars Challenge" on Friday night, providing a humorous moment. Unfortunately, he was on the wrong side of it. The Celtics will be represented all weekend as the Harper family will play in the Skills Challenge and Jaylen Brown will participate in the All-Star Game on Sunday.
--The Celtics are back in action on Feb. 19 against the Golden State Warriors, who are trying to stay afloat in a competitive Western Conference.
--Tatum is back and practicing with the Maine Celtics of the G-League, but there is no official word yet on if/when he'll return to action this season.
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