Payton Pritchard on Monday night dropped a career-high 23 points to help lead the Boston Celtics to a 126-114 victory on the road over the Toronto Raptors in Tampa, Florida.
Pritchard dished out a career-high eight assists while he finished by shooting 8-of-13 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. His 23 points are the most scored by a rookie in a game this season, topping the 22 points LaMelo Ball scored on Dec. 30.
The 26th overall pick scored 11 points in the first half off the bench to help the Celtics erase an early 13-point lead by the Raptors. Pritchard proved to be effective running the offense and often got his teammates involved in the action, as evidence by his team-high eight assists.
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Pritchard has given the Celtics a nice spark off the bench this season and that was once again the case on Monday. He has had a few inconsistent outings but has the ability to come into games and take over and add energy when needed.
Based on his play this season, Pritchard has made a strong case to be the starting point guard until Kemba Walker returns from injury. The team may prefer his energy and offense off the bench but he has at least given head coach Brad Stevens something to seriously consider.
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