Payton Pritchard is thriving as a momentum shifter for Celtics

Payton Pritchard is thriving as a momentum shifter for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Ask any Celtics player when they knew Boston would win the decisive Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals, and most will point to the same play: Payton Pritchard’s buzzer-beating heave to end the first half.

“You take a glance at the other team, and it’s one of those that breaks (their) spirit,” veteran Al Horford said at the time. “It just kind of fueled us.”

Fast forward to Monday night at TD Garden, where Pritchard delivered another end-of-quarter dagger: a step-back 3-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Celtics an eight-point lead over the Milwaukee Bucks entering the fourth.

Pritchard is one of the few players in the NBA who will hoist deep shots at the buzzer without regard for his field goal percentage — in part because he has an uncanny ability to make them, and in part because he knows what a make does to the other team.

“I feel like that’s why everybody’s got to take them, no matter the distance,” Pritchard said. “It’s just a gut punch when you do hit them. Like you, felt it in the Garden — the momentum swings are crazy.”

Such was the case Monday night, as Boston never looked back after Pritchard’s buzzer-beater en route to a 119-108 victory that had Bucks head coach Doc Rivers hunched over in dismay.

“This morning I literally circled his name,” Rivers lamented after the game. “I was like, ‘This guy comes in and he’s a game-changer.'”

Pritchard lived up to Rivers’ scouting report Monday night, hitting 8 of 12 3-pointers to finish with 28 points and tie Eddie House’s franchise record for most 3-pointers off the bench in one game. And just like House did for the “Big Three” era Celtics, Pritchard has embraced his role as a second-unit spark plug.

“It’s really just about the energy I’ve got to bring every game, especially coming off the bench,” Pritchard said. “Some nights our starters might have low energy, so I’ve got to be responsible for bringing it that night.”

Shifting the energy is nothing new for Pritchard, who finished second in the NBA in net rating last season (behind fellow Celtics reserve Sam Hauser) and leads all bench players in points and 3-pointers through four games this season.

Opponents expecting a downshift when the Celtics’ starters take a breather are met with one of the league’s best bench players who takes his job a momentum-shifter very, very seriously — especially in the final seconds of quarters.

“I just live for those moments,” Pritchard said. “The clock winding down, and I think it was like six seconds left, so just to get to a spot and raise. And I kind of black out in those moments and just let it fly.”