Payton Pritchard scores a career
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Prichard scored a career-high 31 points and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 131-98 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
Pritchard added 11 assists for his second double-double this season and helped the Celtics avoid losing three consecutive games in a season for the first time since 2010-11.
Luke Kornet finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta both also had 16 points for Boston, which led by as many as 33 and had only six turnovers.
Pritchard will be counted on coming off the bench in the playoffs and coach Joe Mazzulla said his performance was indicative of how much he has grown and bought into his role this season.
“Just being a complete player from the standpoint of every game is going to be different,” Mazzulla said. “He affects the game in many different ways. Obviously, having a consistent role for an entire season is really beneficial.”