Pritchard becomes first Celtic to accomplish rare feat from 3-point range originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Rightfully so, it’s been the play of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that’s garnered the most attention for the turnaround of the 2021-22 Boston Celtics.
Somewhere down the list, though, has to be the play off the bench of guard Payton Pritchard. From looking like another forgettable late first round pick earlier this season, when he shot 23 percent from 3-point range between October and November, Pritchard has emerged as the long-sought shooter the Celtics have desperately needed to surround Tatum and Brown.
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With his performance over the last two games, Pritchard has even made some franchise history with his showing from beyond the arc. Pritchard became the first player for Boston and just the fourth player in NBA history to make at least four 3-pointers in consecutive games without a miss, following up a 4 for 4 showing in Sacramento with a 5 for 5 performance in Denver on Sunday against the Nuggets.
Payton Pritchard just became the 4th player in NBA history (and 1st Celtic) to make at least four 3-pointers without a miss in consecutive games
4-4 @ Sacramento
5-5 @ Denver pic.twitter.com/YB1UEmHXbX— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) March 21, 2022
Pritchard, who was selected 26th overall by the Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft, has scored 10 or more points in three straight games for the first time this season and just the second time in his career.
Pritchard is shooting 43.2 percent from 3 since Dec. 1, raising his season average to a very respectable 38.3 percent.
The history for Pritchard wasn’t the only notable occurrence deep on Sunday, either, as Tatum connected on the 800th 3-pointer of his career — surpassing Ray Allen for third-most in Celtics history in the process.