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The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics played in a thriller on Wednesday and Payton Pritchard ended things in dramatic fashion.
He may not have been the expected hero entering play on Wednesday night, but Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard stepped up and helped his team record a heart-stopping win over the Miami Heat.
The two teams played in a fantastic showdown, with things coming down to the wire. The Celtics had the rock down the stretch, with Marcus Smart attacking the paint with only a few seconds left on the clock. His shot didn’t go in, but Pritchard was in the right place at the right time to knock down the game-winning bucket for Boston.
Payton Pritchard stepped up for the Boston Celtics in a close win over Miami
As you can see in the video above, Pritchard was there to rebound Smart’s miss and then didn’t hesitate in going right back up with it. His score came with 0.2 seconds left, securing the Celtics with their 107-105 victory on the road against the Heat.
Of all the playmakers on Boston’s roster, Pritchard most likely wasn’t the first guy you would have thought of to knockdown the game-winner for the team. On the year, the 6-foot-2 point guard is averaging 8.6 points and 3.1 assists per contest. With that being said, you can’t teach being clutch and Pritchard answered the call with things on the line for his squad.
With the victory, Boston is now 6-3 to start the year. Meanwhile, for Miami, they’re off to a rocky 3-4 start following the loss on Wednesday. They have Pritchard to thank for that, as the rookie was able to remind Celtics fans everywhere as to why Boston decided to use a 2020 first-round pick on him.