By KEN POWTAK Related Press
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 38 factors and the NBA-best Boston Celtics rested their total beginning lineup in a 132-122 victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday within the groups’ regular-season finale.
Svi Mykhailiuk added 26 factors and Sam Hauser 16 for Boston, which sat Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Jrue Vacation together with prime reserve Al Horford.
Pritchard added 12 assists with 9 rebounds. In final 12 months’s closing regular-season sport, the 6-foot-1 Pritchard had a triple-double with 30 factors, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming a member of Larry Chicken and John Havlicek as the one Celtics with at the least 30 factors, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in a sport.
He picked up his ninth rebound with 5:22 left within the sport and performed the remainder of the best way.
“If it got here, I’ll take it. However I obtained one final 12 months,” he stated, smiling. “It wasn’t like I had strain to get my first triple-double. I’m a reasonably good rebounder. So if I get the minutes, I believe I’ll be capable of get one other triple-double.”
The Celtics (64-18) completed their fifteenth season in membership historical past with 60 or extra wins, the newest in 2008 once they captured the NBA title.
Having misplaced Recreation 7 at house towards Miami within the Jap Convention finals final spring, something lower than a visit to the NBA Finals this 12 months would very doubtless be considered as a disappointment.
“An important factor getting right into a state of affairs is having no expectations,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla stated of the upcoming postseason. “In case you examine groups which have even been lucky sufficient, and if we’re lucky sufficient to get to a Finals, if not win it, the street there may be at all times forgotten by the results of profitable.”
The Wizards (15-67) ended their third straight season and fifth prior to now six with no playoff berth. Eugene Omoruyi led them with a career-best 26 factors and Jared Butler had 22 of their sixth straight loss.
“I believe we developed loads of resilience and we developed a aggressive environment, and we discovered concerning the course of; what it takes to be a very good staff,” Wizards interim coach Brian Keefe stated. “We’ve nonetheless obtained loads of work to do, however I believe we began laying the inspiration for that.”
Pritchard performed all 82 video games this season. He scored 14 factors within the closing 2:19 of the opening half, connecting on all 4 of his 3-point makes an attempt to present Boston a 69-59 halftime edge.
At halftime, the Celtics honored TV play-by-play announcer, Mike Gorman, who’s retiring after his forty third season calling their video games. There have been many tributes on the Jumbotron from former Boston gamers and folk across the NBA throughout timeouts.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Season over.
Celtics: Await their first-round playoff opponent for subsequent Sunday.
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