Payton Pritchard News: Another strong bench showing

Pritchard finished Wednesday's 114-93 win over the Rockets with 27 points (9-20 FG, 5-10 3Pt, 4-5 FT), seven assists and three rebounds over 33 minutes.

Pritchard came off the Celtics' bench for a second consecutive game despite Jaylen Brown (hamstring/knee) being ruled out for Wednesday's contest. Pritchard was still effective in his bench role, connecting on five three-pointers or more for the ninth time this season while finishing as the Celtics' second-leading scorer behind Derrick White (28 points). Pritchard -- who won the 2024-25 Sixth Man of the Year award -- has scored 53 points over his last two outings, and he gives the Celtics a much-needed ball handler off the bench after Boston shipped Anfernee Simons to Chicago on Tuesday in exchange for Nikola Vucevic.