Pritchard, White first Celtics teammates with 40-point games
BOSTON — Payton Pritchard and Derrick White have been mostly glue guys during their time with the Boston Celtics, filling in gaps and providing sparks when necessary.
But with starters Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis all sitting out Wednesday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the duo raised their games.
Pritchard scored a career-high 43 points and had a career-best 10 3-pointers to lead the short-handed Celtics past the Trail Blazers 128-118.
White added career highs with 41 points and nine 3s, making Pritchard and White the first Celtics duo to score 40 or more points in the same game.
They also became the first pair of teammates in NBA history to each record their first career 40-point game in the same game and the first duo in NBA history with nine or more 3-pointers each in a game.
Pritchard also had 10 rebounds, making him the first player in NBA history with at least 40 points, 10 3-pointers and 10 rebounds in a regulation game. Damian Lillard and James Harden did it in overtime games.
“I think the work over time has built up to supreme confidence,” Pritchard said. “Then having my teammates and coaches to have the confidence in me now to allow me to have nights like this. … It just builds and builds and finally you see it on nights like this.”
Even sweeter? The Oregon native did it against the team he grew up watching.
“It’s always fun playing the Blazers,” Pritchard said.
White said hitting three consecutive 3s in the second quarter was what got him going.
“Credit to my teammates who kept finding me in good positions, and I was able to stay hot,” he said.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the night Pritchard and White had was a testament to their work ethic.
“They were tremendous,” Mazzulla said. “The way those two played shows a lot about who they are. … We’re lucky to have them and it was a lot of fun to watch them do that.”
Pritchard added five assists, becoming the first player to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a game off the bench since starters were first tracked in 1970-71. His 10 3-pointers tied for the second most in a game in Celtics history and gave him his 20th game this season with at least five 3s, a first in Celtics history.
In a postgame locker room video posted by the Celtics, the team celebrated White’s night by showering him with water. Pritchard stayed dry during the clip. But he said that was because he was still drying off.
“They got me on the court when I was doing an interview,” Pritchard said. “I already got a bunch of water thrown on me. It was cold. We wanted to make sure we got D-White, too. He had a great night as well.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
LOS ANGELES — The Lakers’ 40-year-old superstar, LeBron James, became the NBA’s first 50,000-point man Tuesday night.
James came into the Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans needing a point to reach 50,000 combined points for his career in the regular season and postseason. He reached the milestone on his first shot, connecting on a 3-pointer from the left wing off a Luka Doncic feed to put the Lakers up 13-6 with 8:34 remaining in the first quarter.
During an ensuing timeout, Lakers public address announcer Lawrence Tanter called out the accomplishment, telling the crowd, “Ladies and gentlemen, we all have just witnessed history.”
James finished with 34 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in Los Angeles’ 136-115 win. The Lakers have won 17 of 20 to move into second place in the Western Conference at 39-21.
James is the NBA’s career leader in regular-season and postseason scoring — with 41,871 points in the regular season and 8,162 in the playoffs.
“It’s a hell of a lot of points, and I’m super blessed to be able to put that many points up in the best league in the world with the best players in the world over my career,” James told Spectrum SportsNet in an on-court interview after the game. “It’s pretty special.”
In 28 games since turning 40, James is averaging 26.4 points on 54.1% shooting (42.3% from 3), 8.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists.
James recently shared a graphic on Instagram showing how those averages compare favorably to his last MVP season in 2012-13, when he averaged 26.8 points on 56.5% shooting (40.6% from 3), 8.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the Miami Heat.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play the game that I love, and I’ve always been true to it, so I’m going to always try to give back,” James said Tuesday night.
James went 10-of-18 from the floor and 5-of-10 on 3-pointers, shooting better than 50% from the floor for the sixth time in his past seven games. Doncic had 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting (6-of-13 on 3s), 15 assists and 8 rebounds as he and James became the first pair of Lakers teammates to score 30 apiece with five or more 3s in the same game in franchise history.
“It’s amazing,” Doncic said of James. “Watching him do this stuff at this age, it’s just unbelievable. Like, 50K points, I can’t even explain how insane that is. He might get to 70K, you never know.”
The 22-year veteran reached the 50,000-point milestone just hours after being named the Western Conference Player of the Month for February, when he averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists and Los Angeles went 10-2.
“We wouldn’t be in the position we’re in without him playing at the level he’s been playing at,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the Pelicans game. “And that’s offensively and defensively.”
Redick also admitted the Lakers wouldn’t be in the position of celebrating James’ 50,000th point Tuesday if the league had properly recorded the points he scored in recent years in some of the new wrinkles to the schedule.
In three play-in tournament games (2021, 2023, 2024), James scored a combined 75 points. Those points have not been added to James’ career playoff total. In the in-season tournament championship game in 2023, James scored 24 points. Those points are not reflected in his regular-season career total either.
“I have a strong feeling towards the play-in tournament, that those little one-game scenarios are playoff games,” Redick said. “I think those games should count, for sure, in the playoffs.”
While the 70,000-point bar that Doncic set for James might be out of reach, the Lakers’ elder statesmen did discuss what’s allowed him to stay competing at the level he’s been at for so long.
“Just not falling out of love with the process,” James said. “Continuing to fall in love with the process, that’s the hardest thing, every single year. You know it’s going to be a long season. It’s 82 games, 41 of them are on the road. It’s a lot of travel. And as you get older, it affects you even differently. If you have a family, it affects you even differently. So the process. Trying not to fall out of love with the process is the hardest thing.”
ESPN
EDITOR’S PICKS
NBA Power Rankings: Where the Lakers and the fast-climbing Pistons land in the top 10
10hNBA insiders
From playoff pushes to Durant’s future, the 19 biggest questions for the rest of the NBA season
2dNBA insiders
EDITOR’S PICKS
LeBron James’ 50,000 points tops list of sports’ most unbreakable records
9hESPN staff
Introducing Net Points! The latest NBA metric and its amazing early findings
2dDean Oliver
NBA Power Rankings: Where the Lakers and the fast-climbing Pistons land in the top 10
10hNBA insiders
MAR 5
MAR 6
MAR 7
Payton Pritchard, Derrick White set new NBA, Boston Celtics record
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) celebrates with Derrick White, left, after hitting a 3-point basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Detroit Pistons, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP
There are 3-point explosions then there’s the one Payton Pritchard and Derrick White went on Wednesday against the Trail Blazers.
Both Celtics guards went off all night, draining multiple 3-pointers to the tune of a new NBA record. Both guards made at least nine 3-pointers, which is the first time in NBA history teammates have eclipsed that mark in the same game.
It wasn’t just that, though. Pritchard finished with a career-high 43 points, along with 10 rebounds and five assists. He shot 14-for-20 from the floor and 10-of-16 on 3s. White put up 41 points, three rebounds and three steals, going 14-for-26 from the field and 9-for-17 on 3s. That’s a new Celtics record: White and Pritchard are the first C’s duo to both score at least 40 points in the same game.
The C’s were without three starters Wednesday, but their guards picked up the scoring slack by raining 3-pointers on the Blazers. Pritchard had already made 10 3-pointers through three quarters of play, then White just kept making his own deep shots. White’s ninth 3-pointer, which set the new NBA record, came with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter to set the NBA record.
Notably, neither guard ended up matching the franchise record for 3s in a game. Longtime Celtics guard Marcus Smart holds that mark, when he shot 11-for-22 from deep in a loss to the Suns on Jan. 18, 2020. The NBA record is held by Klay Thompson, when he made 14 3-pointers back on Oct. 29, 2018, against the Bulls. It looked like both guys had a chance to match Smart and potentially Thompson, but they ended up setting a different NBA record instead.
Pritchard already has some iconic moments in franchise history when it comes to shooting the deep ball. His halfcourt buzzer-beater in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Mavericks has already gone down in Celtics lore. Now, he gets his own unique spin to both NBA and Celtics history, along with White.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025).
© 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube’s privacy policy is available here and YouTube’s terms of service is available here.
Ad Choices
