BOSTON — All Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups could do was laugh. “I haven’t seen that, man,” he told Justin Turpin of WEEI. “I haven’t been a part of a game like that. I’ve seen guys catch fire, but two guys like that, I haven’t seen it.” Two Boston Celtics lit up TD Garden on Wednesday night—a phrase that has been uttered plenty of times—but the names on the backs of their jerseys are different than most would jump to.
Payton Pritchard and Derrick White went nuclear in the Celtics’ 128-118 win. They combined for 84 points, outperforming the 83 combined points Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had against the Cleveland Cavaliers just last week.
It was a three-point hailstorm that did the trick.
Payton Pritchard and Derrick White just drowned the Trail Blazers with threes
Pritchard sunk 10 triples while White managed nine of his own. “They were tremendous,” said Joe Mazzulla. “I think with guys out and playing against a really good Portland team, we knew we were gonna need to have guys step up, and the way those two played just shows a lot about who they are." Wednesday marked the first time in NBA history two players hit nine or more threes in a single game.
Nothing Portland did slowed them down. Pritchard drained a three over Scoot Henderson in the corner that made it look like he was contorting his entire body, and White nailed one at the end of the shot clock in the third with a foot on the Lucky logo at center court.
I asked Chauncey Billups if he’s ever seen something like what Derrick White and Payton Pritchard did tonight:
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) March 6, 2025
“I haven’t seen that, man. I haven’t been a part of a game like that. I’ve seen guys catch fire, but two guys like that, I haven’t seen it.” pic.twitter.com/EgN3YZDNhi
The storm of threes was enough to flood the entire arena. Pritchard was rewarded with MVP chants at the free-throw line in the closing moments of the game, and both earned a raucous applause when the graphics rolled across the jumbotron announcing their respective career-highs (which they both surpassed).
Even when Al Horford did his walk-off interview, he answered every question by shouting out his teammates. “Payton Pritchard and Derrick White,” he said. “That’s all you need to know tonight.”
On a night with no Jayson Tatum, no Kristaps Porzingis, and no Jrue Holiday, the opportunities were there for guys to step into the limelight, and Pritchard and White wasted no time jumping to action.
“They do a lot of the dirty stuff when we're fully healthy,” said Mazzulla. “They do a lot of the things for the team. And to have a night like this where those two can show what they're capable of was big for us. So, we're lucky to have him, and it was a lot of fun to watch them do that.”
And the versatility with which they got to their spots may have been the most impressive part of it all.
“Even tonight, it was dribble-drive as well,” Mazzulla said. “We were able to space them and kind of use their pressure against them. Two guys [who are] really good at creating space, they're really good at catch-and-shoot shots [and] off-the-dribble threes, but they can also create off the dribble.
“So, we were able to kind of spread them a little bit and get into the paint when we needed to, and both those guys were able to do that as well.”
They read the defense perfectly and made the Blazers pay the price for not adjusting their defense quick enough.
"Their big was in a drop some of the night, so it allowed us to get downhill and have those threes right off the screens," Pritchard said. "But, I mean, we have a lot of good players that can get into the paint and kick out, so it helps us to space the floor and find the open shots."
Both Pritchard and White have had their moments before. White scored 38 in Game 4 of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Miami Heat last season. Pritchard poured in 38-point triple-double against the Washington Wizards in a game at the end of last regular season.
Yet with Tatum and Brown usually in the driver’s seat, Pritchard and White are commonly put in the side car. But not on Wednesday night. And Mazzulla couldn’t be more grateful to have them around.
“The thoughts I have [are], 'We're lucky to have them.' I have that,” he said. “It's great. [It's] a gift as a coach to know [that], when you have guys out, you still feel like the expectation is to win because of the type of people that you have. And when you call a timeout and you need to get a basket, you know you can go to a bunch of guys.
“And so, it's more just a gratitude of that we have them, and it's a luxury, and the way they compete every night.”