No substitute for a Celtics win
On Thursday night, the Celtics’ starters were booed when they went to the bench late in the third quarter of a grisly loss to the Knicks. When Friday night’s game against the Hornets began, they were back in that spot.
But this time they were in street clothes, receiving a well-earned respite as other Eastern Conference playoff teams spent the night tussling to improve their seeding.
Charlotte was also missing some key pieces, and is not a very good team even when whole. So Boston’s backups had little trouble shoving them to the side and coasting to a 131-98 win at TD Garden that guaranteed that the Celtics (6318) will not have a three-game losing streak during this sparkling regular season.
“I thought the guys who were out there executed,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought defensively, there were some sets that we saw tonight, the same ones as last night, and we handled those a little bit differently. I thought the guys were well-connected on the defensive end, and they did a really good job crashing. We had 16 offensive rebounds, which helped us control the shot margin.”
Although Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White all sat out, there were some key rotation pieces available.
Payton Pritchard, never one to shy away from an opportunity to pile up shots, made 14 of 22 and finished with a career-high 31 points and 11 assists despite sitting out the fourth quarter. Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser added 16 points apiece for the Celtics, who shot 51.9 percent from the field overall.
One year after requesting a trade due to his inconsistent opportunities, Pritchard has emerged as an essential piece for the championship favorites. And if he suits up in Sunday’s finale against the Wizards as expected, he will be the only Celtic to appear in all 82 games.
“To play 82 games is tough, but through the summer, the work I put in to get my body ready for that, but also the journey for me,” Pritchard said. “Last year was my second year where at times I didn’t play at all, and how frustrating that is and how much that hurt
at times. But it just fueled me to keep working, and for this year to come and play 82 games and be a part of the best team in the NBA and try to do something special, it feels good.”
Typically, this would be a week for the Celtics’ third string to shine and get some extra work with the big club. But Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine is playing in the Finals, so that process has been a bit complicated. Maine lost at Oklahoma City in Game 2 on Thursday night, squaring the best-of-three series. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday in Portland.
Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh, and two-way contract players JD Davison and Drew Peterson were all recalled to face the Hornets anyway. There were some stretches in which all four Maine teammates were on the court together.
“I feel like we played really well,” said Queta, who had 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. “We’ve kind of got our own chemistry as well. The more we play with each other, we’re starting to build a bit more and these moments are really important for our development of the group. The more we can be able to come in there and play as hard as we can and take these minutes as meaningful reps, I feel like it’s only going to help the team long term.”
Tre Mann paced the Hornets with 19 points. Former Celtic Grant Williams sat out with an ankle injury but made his first appearance at TD Garden since leaving Boston last summer. Williams joined the Mavericks in a sign-and-trade and was traded to the Hornets in February, before Dallas visited Boston. He received a brief but warm ovation when he was shown on the arena’s video board during a first-quarter timeout.
Kornet and Pritchard combined to score 21 of the Celtics’ first 23 points on the way to a 30-24 first-quarter lead. The Celtics demolished the Hornets in the second, making 16 of 24 shots, forcing eight turnovers, and outscoring Charlotte, 39-19.
Pritchard went to halftime with 23 points and 9 assists.
“He affects the game in many different ways,” Mazzulla said of Pritchard. “So obviously having a consistent role for an entire season is really beneficial, which I think this is the first time he’s had that where we know each and every night exactly what he’s playing, where he’s playing, and kind of what the potential is.”
The Celtics’ surge continued in the second half. The starters on the bench appeared to enjoy the onslaught, and the backups successfully shifted the mood here following a pair of subpar outings.