Celtics Beat 76ers For The Second Time In Four Days As Payton Pritchard Shines Again

The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 112-101 on Wednesday night, with Payton Pritchard leading the way with 17 points and scoring for the third consecutive preseason game.

As Boston built a 67-59 lead in the first half, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Pritchard each scored 11 points. Five of the first seven points scored by Boston were by Porzingis.

After each playing 17 minutes in the first half, Pritchard played 24 minutes while Porzingis, Holiday, and White did not. Pritchard shot 7 of 15 from the field and 3 of 9 from beyond the arc. White got three more blocks in the first half and finished the previous season as the league’s top guard in blocks.

Tyrese Maxey contributed 17 points, while Kelly Oubre Jr., a new Sixer, scored 18 points with four 3-pointers. James Harden and Joel Embiid were once again inactive.

Following a 10-0 run, Oubre sank a corner 3-pointer for Philadelphia to take a 28-25 lead. He completed the half with 16 points after making all five of his attempts, including four 3-pointers. During Philadelphia’s 8-0 run to knot the score at 72 all early in the third quarter, Oubre also had an alley-oop dunk down the baseline.

Pritchard had just scored 21 points in a Monday defeat to New York of the score of 114-107. Additionally, he contributed 26 points during a 114-106 victory against Philadelphia on Sunday to open the preseason.