Payton Pritchard, Celtics' backups beat Hornets to close out regular season

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Apr 13, 2025

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BOSTON — Four days after being blown off the floor by the Orlando Magic, the Celtics backups redeemed themselves Sunday.

With Boston’s top six players all resting ahead of the playoffs, its bench bodies outlasted the Charlotte Hornets 93-86 at TD Garden to close out the regular season.

Payton Pritchard paced the Celtics with 34 points on 14-for-25 shooting, plus seven assists and six rebounds. Sam Hauser went 4 for 7 from deep and scored 15 points in his 29 minutes, and Luke Kornet finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists and four blocks.

Pritchard, Hauser and Kornet were the only Celtics rotation players who suited up for the meaningless game, with the rest of Boston’s minutes going to deep reserves who rarely see action when the team is at full strength.

JD Davison, who had his two-way contract converted to a standard NBA deal on Saturday, scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter, helping the Celtics secure the win after they squandered a 21-point first-half lead. Second-year pro Jordan Walsh added 10 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a block in his 20 minutes off the bench.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford all sat out for Boston. All six watched at least part of the game from the bench in street clothes. White did so with his young son on his lap.

Barring any additional injuries, those six players will be back in the fold when the 61-21 Celtics begin their first-round playoff series next weekend. As the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, they’ll face either the Magic or the Atlanta Hawks, pending the result of Tuesday’s 7-vs.-8 play-in game.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s “100%” confident Brown, who missed the final three regular-season games with a lingering knee injury, will be available for Game 1.

The Celtics shot out to a 22-5 lead in Sunday’s finale, with all 22 of those points coming from Pritchard, Hauser and Kornet. They led 33-15 after one and stretched their cushion to 21 points during the second quarter.

Two-way players Drew Peterson and Miles Norris both contributed to that Celtics surge, with Peterson hitting a 3-pointer and blocking a shot at the rim, leading to a fast-break lob dunk by Kornet at the other end.

Boston’s shooters went cold over the final four minutes of the first half, however, and the Hornets seized control of the game. They cut Boston’s lead to 11 points by halftime, then got to within four midway through the third quarter.

Moussa Diabate’s dunk with 2:15 remaining in the third put Charlotte in front 64-63 — the first lead for the visitors since the game’s opening minute. The Celtics took a 69-68 lead into the fourth quarter.

Davison, who did not play in the second and third quarters, opened the fourth with an 11-foot floater, followed by a steal that led to a Pritchard 3. This was Davison’s first game as a full-time NBA player after three seasons mostly spent in the G League, where he earned Most Valuable Player honors this season. The Celtics promoted the 6-foot-1 guard their final open 15-man roster spot.

After another Pritchard 3-pointer and up-close makes by Kornet and Pritchard, Davision added a 3 of his own off a Pritchard offensive rebound, putting the Celtics ahead 86-79 with 4:48 to play.

Another Boston cold streak ensued, and Charlotte tied the game at 86-86. Davison broke that deadlock with a tough driving layup. Less than a minute later, he found Walsh for a 3-pointer that effectively iced the game with 1:19 remaining.

It was a rare opportunity for Davison and Walsh — the Celtics’ draft picks in 2022 and 2023, respectively — to contribute in crunch time. Boston’s 2024 draftee, Baylor Scheierman, had a shakier offensive outing, going 2 for 14 and 2 for 10 from 3-point range across his 36 minutes. Scheierman did notch seven assists, five rebounds, two assists and four steals, though, and was a plus-10 in the win, second-best on the team behind Neemias Queta’s plus-11.

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