Payton Pritchard continues his push for NBA's Sixth Man Award with strong showing vs. Bucks
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics were nearly sunk by the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, falling behind by as much as 17 points in the first half. Thankfully, Payton Pritchard kept the Celtics afloat as he made another strong case to be the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year.
It's still early in the season, but Pritchard is setting himself apart from the pack for the award nearly every time he touches the floor. He scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half on Sunday, keeping the Celtics within striking distance before Jayson Tatum and Derrick White -- and the C's defense -- took control in the second half.
Payton Pritchard's big first half vs. Bucks
Pritchard was Boston's sparkplug on Sunday, scoring his 17 first-half points over just 13 minutes and 38 second. He shot a blistering 6-of-10 from the floor and hit five of his eight three-point attempts overall in Milwaukee.
Given his tendency to drain deep shots at the buzzer, the Bucks sent multiple defenders at Pritchard when he took a 48-foot heave at the end of the first quarter. That was one of his three three-point misses on the day.
He went on to torch the Bucks in the second quarter, as Pritchard hit four of his six shots from downtown in the second frame. His three with 5:40 left in the half cut Milwaukee's lead to nine points. He helped get the ball moving and kept the Bucks reacting with some savvy off-ball movement, all of which helped Boston cut into its deficit.
Tatum led the way in the second half with 23 of his 31 points, while Jrue Holiday scored 10 of his 15 points after halftime. But the Celtics wouldn't have had a chance to come back had it not been for Pritchard, who also dished out three assists for the game.
Holiday lauded Pritchard as a one-man wrecking crew after Sunday's victory.
"I feel like he kind of does it by himself. He makes plays himself," said Holiday. "He knows how to play well off people. He can get to the paint and score. He can score from three. He can score from half court. A very efficient player. Somebody you love to play with.
"The way that he plays is winning basketball," added Holiday.
Payton Pritchard's Sixth-Man push
Heading into the season, Pritchard had some lofty odds to bring home Sixth Man, sitting at a plus-8000 on some sites. Less than a month into the season, he's now the betting favorite to bring home the hardware.
Only three other Celtics -- Kevin McHale (twice), Bill Walton, and Malcolm Brogdon -- have won Sixth Man honors for the Celtics. Pritchard is making a strong push to become the fourth.
Through 11 games this season, Pritchard leads all bench scorers in the NBA with 182 points off the pine. He sits 30 points ahead of Golden State's Buddy Hield and 34 points ahead of Charlotte's Tre Mann. Pritchard's 43 made threes off the bench lead Hield by 10.
It will come as no surprise to Boston fans, but Pritchard is having the best season of his five-year career. He's averaging 16.5 points off 47.6 percent shooting overall and 43 percent from downtown. He's scored 20 or more points on three different occasions, including a 28-point outburst in a win over the Bucks at TD Garden on Oct. 28.
The Celtics made the Sixth Man famous when Red Auerbach had John Havlicek come off the bench to start his Hall of Fame career. Pritchard has thrived in the roll, and he's now done something no other Celtics player has done in the franchise's long and storied history. On Sunday, Pritchard became the first Celtic to score at least 15 points and hit at least three three-pointers off the bench in five straight games.
Over his last five games, Pritchard has averaged 18.8 points off 52.4 percent shooting overall (32-of-61) and 43.4 percent from three-point land (20-of-46).
The Celtics have a stacked lineup with plenty of firepower, but Pritchard currently ranks third on the team in points (trailing only Tatum and White) and second on the team in made threes behind Tatum. Outside of his scoring, Pritchard is tied for second on the team in steals with 11, and fourth in assists with 28.
Pritchard continues to be a big part of Boston's success, and continues to strengthen his case to take home this year's Sixth Man of the Year award.
