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Jaylen Brown of the Celtics attributes Payton Pritchard’s success this year to one simple reason

Boston Celtics reserve point guard Payton Pritchard had another outstanding game for the reigning champions on Friday against the Indiana Pacers, 23-8.

In the 142-105 win, the Sixth Man of the Year contender was close to a triple-double in the Celtics’ game before being taken out of the game for the night as the fight spiraled completely out of control. Coach Joe Mazzulla wants injuries avoid by taking advantage of his deep bench. With a game time of 31:37 and 18 points, the 1.90 meter tall Oregon player scored 18 points on 7 of 16 shots from distance (4 of 10 from distance), provided 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. He also made a steal and blocked a shot. He also achieved a plus-minus of +25.

This year, the 26-year-old is averaging 15.4 points while posting .466/.413/.848 shooting splits (his 41.3 percent 3-point conversion rate comes from a solid 8.7 triple attempts), 3.8 rebounds , 3.4 assists and .848 points scored with 0.9 steals per night in his 31 healthy games.

He was never a great athlete and achieved great success playing under the basket or mid- and long-range jumpers. But he had an extra spring in his step in his best year ever.

During a postgame interview with three-time All-Star Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown (who led the Celtics against the Pacers with a 44-point, four-steal effort), the topic of his improved play naturally came up discussed this year. Pritchard wears sneakers from Brown’s clothing brand 741, which Brown teasingly attributed to Pritchard’s better chances.

“If Payton throws down a dunk this season, it will definitely be because of the shoes,” Brown joked.

Brown, of course, feels very comfortable dunking emphatically. Pritchard admitted that he felt a little more athletic in his teammate’s footwear.

“It gives you a little bit, like the 2K run, it gives you a few points overall in terms of speed and rebounding,” Pritchard said. “I think I had two offensive rebounds in a row. Maybe if I don’t make it, I won’t be able to jump off so quickly.”

Pritchard will make another attempt at a triple-double this year with a rematch against the Pacers scheduled for Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET. He signed a four-year, $30 million rookie extension with Boston ahead of the Celtics’ 2023-24 championship season, which begins this year. He’s only making $6.7 million this year, an absolute steal.

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