Payton Pritchard’s buzzer-beating three-pointer is the play of the night

Payton Pritchard only scored three points in Sunday night’s Game 2 win over the Mavericks.

But they were the biggest three points of the night, coming in the form of a quintessential 34-foot heave at the end of the third-quarter buzzer.

The Mavericks were in the midst of closing out the quarter on a 7-0 run. to cut a 13-point Celtics lead to 6. when Pritchard checked in for the first time in the second half, with just 3.3 seconds remaining in the period.

Subsequently, as he has many times this season, Pritchard zoomed up the court to try and beat the buzzer. On the brightest stage, he sunk the deep three and broke into celebration with his teammates.

“I was just ready for that moment,” Pritchard told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin after the game. “Joe put me in with three seconds left. I like those moments. I live for them. So, I took full advantage.”

Joe Mazzulla deemed Pritchard’s shot the play of the game. In his postgame presser, he was first asked about Tatum’s playmaking, and instead pivoted to bring up the heave.

“The play of the game can’t go unnoticed. The humility of our team, is Payton’s shot at the end of the quarter,” Mazzulla said. “You see guys around the league pass up on that shot or fake like they want to take it, so that their numbers don’t get messed up. He takes pride in taking that, and that’s winning basketball. So that’s the first and foremost.”

Pritchard had sat out the entire third quarter and was scoreless in the Finals when he attempted that shot. But he had already made a couple of big plays in Game 2 – grabbing an offensive rebound over multiple Mavericks frontcourt players, forcing Kyrie Irving into a difficult miss, preventing Derreck Lively II from getting off a clean look.

He had only played 8 minutes through the first three quarters before checking in for that shot. Joe Mazzulla said he subbed him in and the intention was for Pritchard to make a play, but Jaylen Brown said he believed checking into the game was the result of Pritchard’s own initiative.

“Man, that was incredible,” Brown said of Pritchard’s shot. “I heard he, like, checked himself in the game, too. Like, he’s been hitting those shots all season long. If anybody has been paying attention to it, he’s made I don’t know how many of those, at least three or four. So tonight he made it in the biggest of moments.”

The shot came on the heels of a series of Celtics’ mistakes. In the final minutes, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, and Jrue Holiday each fouled a different Mavericks player and sent them to the line, helping fuel Dallas’ comeback.

“How you finish quarters is big,” Brown said. “We didn’t finish that quarter great. We got a lot of open looks, we gave up some. There was some bad fouls. One of them was mine — I fouled Luka on the back cut, and then me and JT got mixed communication on the switch. Luka had a three. We got to finish quarters better. But, Payton checks himself in the game and covers us a little bit by hitting the big-time shot.”

Jrue Holiday had a similar rendition of how the closing seconds of the third quarter transpired, taking ownership for his own mistakes and describing Pritchard’s make as critical.

“Well, first, I fouled Kyrie and put him on the free-throw line and I got my third foul, so Payton came in for me,” Holiday said. “I didn’t want to foul him, but I’m kind of glad that I did. The energy that Payton brings, him just having the balls to take that shot. He’s done it so many times this year, where he’s had the courage to take it and he’s knocked it. He has been huge for us.”

In May, Pritchard reflected on his tendency to take low-percentage heaves at the buzzer where others might not in order to improve their three-point percentage.

“It’s a basketball play,” Pritchard said. “We should take those shots, even if it’s full court. What if that goes in?”

After Game 2, Mazzulla said he viewed the shot as a broader reflection of the team’s — and Pritchard’s — selflessness.

“He has the humility and selflessness to not care if he misses it,” Mazzulla said. “He practices it and has an understanding of how a shot like that can impact the end of a quarter and it can impact the run that a team makes. So they had went on a run to end the quarter, and I thought that shot kind of gave us a little bit of poise and a little bit of momentum that we needed heading into the fourth quarter. That was big-time.”

Payton Pritchard is now averaging 7 points on 44% shooting this postseason, including 40.8% from three. While he generally hasn’t put up big scoring numbers, he’s solidified himself as a reliable backup point guard who has made countless key plays throughout the playoff run.

But perhaps none was as big as the play he made in the closing seconds of Game 2’s third quarter. If the Celtics are able to put away the Mavericks, Pritchard’s heave will become a staple play in the Banner 18 documentary.

“That’s what Payton Pritchard does,” Derrick White said. “If you watch us late clock, he doesn’t shy away from that moment. You just love Payton. You love competing with him. It was a big-time shot.”