Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 42 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
The point guard has started all 20 games for the Celtics this season after the departure of Jrue Holiday in the summer.
He and Derrick White have formed a quality backcourt duo that are keeping the team afloat alongside Jaylen Brown.
Brown remains the Celtics’ number one option, but he was more than happy to give Pritchard the reins against the Cavaliers.
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Jaylen Brown reacts to Payton Pritchard’s 42-point game
After the exits of Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and the injury to Jayson Tatum, the Celtics needed more offensive production from Pritchard this season.
The former Sixth Man of the Year has already proven to be a microwave scorer, but according to The Athletic, Brown has told him that he needs to orchestrate the offense more in close games.
“You’ve got the ball, get people where you want them to go,” Brown commented on Pritchard’s performance in that regard on Sunday.
“Put people in the right spots, slow down, get everybody composed, and just get a good shot. And being able to manipulate the game, I think he did a good job of that tonight.”
The Celtics’ leading scorer is willing to defer to Pritchard when he is in full flow, like he was against the Cavaliers.
“Just playing the game the right way,” Brown added. “He liked the matchup. He had it going. So, hey, I get out of the way and let Payton do what he does.”
Payton Pritchard praises ‘impressive’ Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown struggled with his shot in the Celtics’ victory over the Cavs, making just three of his 13 field goal attempts.
However, the 29-year-old still contributed significantly to the win with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.
Pritchard emphasized that Brown is the Celtics’ “best player” because he has so many different ways of hurting the opposition.
“He’s our best player,” Pritchard said in a post-game interview. “So I think what he’s capable of doing is he can affect the game in different ways on different nights. You’ve seen the night before, he had 41.
“He can put on a scoring display. And then he can have a night like tonight and have a triple-double and affect the game, which is even more impressive because he really missed a lot of shots that he usually hits.
“So imagine he hits those shots, he’s looking at a 30-ball, triple-double. So the growth and everything, it’s impressive.”