The Celtics bounced back nicely on Friday with an impressive, Jaylen Brownless win over the Sacramento Kings.
Here's what stood out:
A tale of two games
After sitting through Wednesday’s zombie-like performance, watching the Celtics dominate the Kings for their second wire-to-wire win of the week was a nice breath of fresh air. Like, this game actually couldn’t have been any different than the one two days prior.
Boston came out of the gates with tons of energy, created great shots, and left Sacramento in the dust. By the first timeout, they’d already sprang out to a 9-1 lead. It was a sign of what was in store, as the Cs went on to make 17 of their first 24 attempts from the field.
The story remained the same for essentially the entire night, with a slight hiccup in the third quarter. Though the Celtics only managed 17 points in the frame, they still entered the fourth with a sizable lead.
Payton Pritchard remains ready to cook at all times
With Jaylen Brown out, the Cs were going to have to find scoring from somewhere. There really should’ve never been a doubt that Payton Pritchard would ball out in this spot.
This basically had the same feel as the April games where both teams sit their rotation pieces, leaving Pritchard to do whatever he wants out there. In the first quarter alone, he went off for 11 points and five assists on a perfect 5-5 from the field. He continued to dominate as the game went on, weaving through Sacramento’s sad excuse for a defense and getting to the paint.
He finished the night with 29 points, eight assists, and two rebounds on an efficient 12-16 from the field.
Baylor builds off a strong night
Baylor Scheierman’s third-quarter stint might’ve been the only positive to take away from Wednesday’s loss to the mediocre Atlanta Hawks. He served as a key contributor to the team’s comeback effort with his effort on the glass and offensive aggression.
That showing was strong enough to earn him the starting nod in Brown’s absence -- an opportunity he took full advantage of. Scheierman relished in the increased number of shot attempts and had a nice night for himself.
Early on, he provided the Celtics with some nice spacing, knocking down a few open looks from long range.
Every time Scheierman has gotten a chance to prove he’s a rotation player this season, he’s done it. After a shaky rookie year, he hit the gym, worked on his game, and came back ready to contribute.
His defense, in particular, is what’s earned him more and more playing time. He guarded his yard well against the Kings and even swiped himself a steal.
Scheierman totaled 16 points, five rebounds, an assist, and a steal in 30 impressive minutes on Friday.