Boston Celtics
“I don’t really consider those heat checks for him just because he’s that good of an offensive player.”
Payton Pritchard during the Celtics’ win over the Bulls. Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Payton Pritchard caught fire in the second half and the Celtics took total control in the third quarter en route to a 134-99 victory over the Bulls on Monday.
Here are the takeaways.
Welcome to the season, Payton Pritchard
Pritchard wasn’t bad in the Celtics’ debut loss to the Pistons, but he was very quiet in 30 minutes against the Knicks on Friday — just four points on 1-for-5 shooting. Prior to Monday’s contest, we were yet to see a fully realized Payton Pritchard in the regular season since he signed his lucrative contract extension.
Against the Bulls, however, Pritchard fully arrived late in the third quarter in the way that he uniquely can.
He started at the 5:39 mark, just over a minute after Jayson Tatum sat down with four fouls and the Celtics up 10. The Celtics gave up a double-digit lead in the second quarter after Tatum sat down, so his absence had somewhat ominous overtones.
Pritchard, however, quickly made it clear the Celtics did not need to worry. His 3-pointer out of a transition opportunity with 5:39 left put the Celtics up by 15. On the next possession, he found Sam Hauser for a 3-pointer, then he drove into the paint and whirled backward, knocking down a turnaround jumper.
Then things got out of control. With 2:52 left in the quarter, Pritchard drove right by Buddy Hield and finished at the rim. On the next possession, he picked off a steal and found Hauser for another 3-pointer. On the next possession, he lined up a deep spot-up 3-pointer and buried another.
But Pritchard saved the best for last: Already engulfed in flames and with the entire crowd hanging on his every dribble, Pritchard crossed Hield one way, then crossed back the other direction, then went between his legs to step back and create enough space for a jumper. Hield leapt fruitlessly to contest the shot, but Pritchard cashed it in and ran back the other way, mean-mugging and talking trash as the Bulls called timeout.
Pritchard hit one more 3-pointer for good measure over former AAU teammate Zach Collins before he finally missed a mid-range jumper, ending the quarter 7-for-8 from the field. He scored 19 in the quarter and never returned to the game after ballooning the Celtics’ lead to 30 going into the fourth.
“I don’t really consider those heat checks for him just because he’s that good of an offensive player,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters after the game.
Pritchard finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting, 7-for-10 from 3-point range, and four assists. He noted that he has started the last few seasons slowly, and he believes he knows why.
“It’s 100% my aggression,” he said. “It’s not just about taking shots, to be honest. I’m fine with any amount of shots. It’s about how I attack. Am I touching the paint? Am I pushing the pace? Stuff like that. Controllables.
“When I don’t do it, I feel very disappointed in myself, and I feel like I’m hurting the team in that area.”
Jayson Tatum was robbed of a massive game
Tatum started somewhat slowly from the field — while he piled up assists and rebounds, he shot 1-for-6 over the first 11:59 of the first quarter before making a layup at the buzzer that pushed the Celtics’ lead to 12.
After playing the entire first quarter, Tatum sat for the first six minutes of the second quarter before returning. When he came back, he made a tough turnaround jumper.
That looked like it might be the start of a big game — having revved his engine a bit, Tatum made another pull-up jumper, finished at the rim and buried a tough 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. If the Bulls had been able to keep the game somewhat close, Tatum looked like he was headed for a monster night.
Then Tatum picked up a fourth foul relatively early in the third quarter and sat down, at which point Pritchard spent five straight minutes clubbing the Bulls over the head with 3-pointers. Tatum briefly came back in the fourth and scored once more, but he finished with 23 points on 7-for-17 shooting — a perfectly reasonable night, but not the monstrous triple-double that appeared to be loading based on his first half numbers.
However, the good news for Tatum and the Celtics is that he played a team-high 27 minutes in the blowout with the second half of a back-to-back looming against the Nets on Tuesday. No back-to-back is easy, but two home games against lottery-bound teams in which everyone got plenty of rest on the front end is a pretty solid setup.
Paul George continued to look better than advertised
In the two games since the opener, George’s numbers haven’t jumped off the page — he scored 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting on Monday — but he is hitting 3-pointers, his defense has been a revelation, and he can still get to the basket. Look no further than this pick-and-roll with Mitchell Robinson midway through the third quarter: George wove his way past defenders in the pick-and-roll, elevated, moved the ball around a shot blocker and finished at the rim.
So far, George has managed to give the Celtics precisely what they needed in every game. Against the Pistons, he kept them alive with a super-heroic 38-point outing while Tatum and the rest of the team struggled. Against the Knicks, he took a step back and played a supporting role as Tatum went nuts down the stretch.
On Monday against the Bulls, he scored a couple of buckets in the third quarter after Tatum sat down to foul trouble, and he gamely provided floor-spacing and a menacing defensive presence as Pritchard put the game to bed.
Whether George can hold up like this all season remains to be seen, but if he can, he will be a really helpful addition deep into the playoffs.
Hugo González provided a spark
González didn’t play much in either of the Celtics’ first two games, but he provided an instant spark off the bench when he entered Monday’s game in the first quarter with a put-back, an and-one transition layup, and a 3-pointer.
González also absolutely obliterated a dunk attempt by Jalen Smith at the end of the second quarter, which led to a quick layup in transition by Tatum.
Mazzulla noted that González, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Hauser have difficult jobs given that their minutes might not always be consistent from game to game, but nights like Monday show “what Hugo is capable of.”
“I think he’s played well even in those two games, whether it’s two-and-a-half minutes or three minutes, he’s had a couple offensive rebounds, he’s done things that have impacted winning,” Mazzulla said.
“So tonight it was louder. Tonight it was like the best version of him getting better, but those guys have a hard job. They’ve got to bring it every night. A lot of what they’re great at, you might not see it on the score sheet, but tonight you did.”
Expect continued shifting in the Walsh/Scheierman/González rotation, but Gonzàlez comported himself well on Monday with 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Mike Conley made his debut
According to the NBC Sports Boston broadcast, 39-year-old Mike Conley became the fourth-oldest player to take the floor for the Celtics’ franchise when he played for the first time this year in the fourth quarter — surpassed only by Robert Parish, Shaquille O’Neal and Joe Johnson.
Conley does not look his age. He’s moving well, looks confident and enthusiastic about his late-career landing spot, and he went 2-for-2 from 3-point range in his debut.
Don’t expect a lot of minutes from Conley this year, but he looked ready to step in if the Celtics start getting short on players, and his teammates are big fans.
“Just an unbelievable person,” Pritchard said, when asked about Conley. “Obviously still in unbelievable shape for his age, and I was telling him one of the back taps he had, I’m like, ‘you look like a DB still.’ Like, he’s just a freak.
“But just such a good vet to be around and somebody I’m always pulling for knowledge from him. His career has been unbelievable.”
Chris Cenac Jr. also made his debut
On the complete other end of the spectrum, 19-year-old Chris Cenac Jr. also made his Celtics (and NBA) debut late in the fourth quarter, and he immediately cashed in a 3-pointer — his first-ever regular season basket.
Congrats to Cenac, who we here could not be higher on after some impressive preseason flashes of potential brilliance.
What’s next
The Celtics will play the second night of a back-to-back Tuesday against the Nets at TD Garden, tipping off at 7:30 p.m. before the Bulls return to TD Garden on Friday to tip off the NBA Cup’s East Group C slate.
That precedes the start of November, which will easily be the Celtics’ most difficult month this year.
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