The Boston Celtics’ reserves got a chance to shine in Friday night’s showdown with the Charlotte Hornets, and they took advantage of their opportunity.
With the top six out for the penultimate game of their regular season, the C’s went with a starting lineup of Payton Pritchard, Svi Mykhailiuk, Jaden Springer, Sam Hauser, and Luke Kornet. Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, JD Davison, and Drew Peterson were recalled from Maine to get minutes on the big stage.
The “Stay Ready” group put on an offensive clinic in their 131-98 rout of the Hornets. Pritchard led the way with a career-high 31 points. Hauser, Kornet, and Queta chipped in 16 apiece. All 11 Celtics scored in the lopsided victory.
The C’s will wrap up their regular season against the Washington Wizards on “Mike Gorman Day” this Sunday at TD Garden. The game is set to tip off at 1 p.m. ET right here on NBC Sports Boston.
First, here are three takeaways from Friday’s action.
Payton Pritchard plays the starring role
On many other NBA rosters, Pritchard would be a regular starter. And a good one at that.
The Celtics’ prized bench guard showed his potential again in his fourth start of the season. Leading the reserves with the top six sidelined, Pritchard went off for 13 points and five assists in the first quarter. It was the highest-scoring opening frame of his NBA career and according to Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe, he became the first C’s player since Isaiah Thomas in Jan. 2017 with 13 points and five assists in a first quarter.
Pritchard scored or assisted on 24 of the Celtics’ first 30 points. He stayed hot in the second quarter to enter the half with 23 points and nine assists. He’s the first Celtic in the play-by-play era with those numbers in the first half of a game, per Dick Lipe.
Pritchard finished with a career-high 31 points (14-21 FG), accomplishing the feat with three minutes left in the third quarter. He dished 11 assists — two shy of his career-high — while adding two rebounds and a steal in 31 minutes.
The Mainers get some minutes
Friday’s game presented the perfect opportunity to give the Maine Celtics standouts more time on the TD Garden parquet. Recent draft picks Jordan Walsh and JD Davison joined the team along with Drew Peterson and Neemias Queta, who signed a full NBA contract earlier this week.
