Mazzulla credits Pritchard for ‘play of the game’ in Game 2 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After a rough start, the Boston Celtics rallied to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 105-98 in Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Sunday night and take a 2-0 lead in the series. And while Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown dominated the stat sheet, it was Payton Pritchard who received praise from Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla after Sunday night’s win.
During his post-game press conference, Mazzulla ignored the first question and instead talked about Pritchard’s buzzer-beater shot. With Boston leading by six points and just 3.3 seconds left in the third quarter, Jayson Tatum inbounded the ball to Pritchard, who sprinted onto the court and threw a 31-yard three-point shot that went in to beat the buzzer. defeat.
“I think the play of the game cannot go unnoticed – the humility of our team – is Payton’s opportunity at the end of the quarter,” Mazzulla told the media. “You see guys around the league pass up that shot, or act like they’re going to take it so their numbers don’t get messed up — he takes pride in doing that, and that’s winning basketball.”
Mazzulla added that Pritchard’s shot should have been asked first, noting that it shows how each player on the roster has different skills that come together to lead to winning. After Mavs coach Jason Kidd tried to play mind games by stating that Jaylen Brown is Boston’s best player, Mazzulla reminded the media what the big deal is really about.
“I’m really tired of hearing about one guy or this guy or that guy, and everyone trying to claim it’s something other than Celtic basketball,” Mazzulla added. “Everyone who took the field tonight made winning plays on both ends of the field, so that’s the most important thing.”
Teammate Derrick White also praised Pritchard, noting that these buzzer-beater shots are nothing new to him.
“That’s exactly what Payton Pritchard does,” White said. “Too late, he doesn’t shy away from that moment. That was a big opportunity, it kind of gave us momentum. You just love Payton, love competing with him – it was just a big opportunity.”
NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin caught up with Pritchard after the win to discuss what Mazzulla called “a winning game.”
“I was just ready for that moment,” Pritchard said of the buzzer-beater. “Joe put me in with three seconds left, so I love those moments. I live for them. So I took full advantage of them.”
In 12 minutes of action, Pritchard had two assists, a rebound and a steal to go with his three points.
With a 2-0 lead in the series, the Celtics will now travel to Dallas for Game 3 on Wednesday night at 8:30 PM ET, with NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics Pregame Live coverage from 7pm ET.
