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Pritchard is NBA’s Best 6th Man

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Payton Pritchard continued a long time Celtics tradition on Tuesday when Boston’s sharpshooting guard was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. The Celtics weere the NBA team that coined the phrase back in the 1950s.

Pritchard received 454 total points in balloting, including 82 out of 100 first-place votes from a global media panel.

The Detroit Pistons’ Malik Beasley was second at 279 points and 13 first-place votes. The third finalist, Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, had 91 points and two first-place nods.

Pritchard, in his fifth NBA season all spent with the Celtics, averaged career highs of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games, coming off the bench in all but three. He was the defending NBA champions’ fifth-leading scorer in the regular season.

His 1,079 total points off the bench were the most of any reserve in the NBA this season.

Pritchard shot 40.7 percent on 3-pointers, making a career-high 255 of them (3.2 per game). He made 246 of those as a reserve, the most in NBA history.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Prep for Game 2; Tatum Doubtful

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the Boston Celtics prepare for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Orlando Magic, they will have to do so with the likelihood that star Jayson Tatum will not suit up on Wednesday.

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The All-Star small forward landed awkwardly on his right wrist early in the fourth quarter following a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After remaining on the floor momentarily, Tatum remained in the game and finished with 17 points in 40 minutes of action.

Despite Boston coach Joe Mazzulla initially indicating that Tatum would be day-to-day, the Celtics on Wednesday listed Tatum as doubtful for Wednesday’s Game 2 with a right distal radius bone bruise.

Tatum told reporters that his X-ray came back negative and assured fans that he was feeling better.

“I just landed on it,” Tatum said. “It was throbbing for a second, then kind of went away.”

The leading scoring for the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, Tatum was looking to lead Boston to a repeat title to become the first team to go back-to-back since Golden State in 2017-18.

–Field Level Media

Celtics, Down a Point, Turn It On

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Derrick White made seven 3-point attempts and scored a team-high 30 points Sunday to lead the Boston to a 103-86 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

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Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 14 rebounds for second-seeded Boston, which received 19 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard. Jaylen Brown, who missed the final three regular-season games with posterior impingement in his right knee, finished with 16 points in 30 minutes.

Boston trailed by one at halftime, but took control by outscoring seventh-seeded Orlando 30-18 in the third.

Orlando’s Paulo Banchero led all scorers with 36 points. He also had 11 rebounds.

Franz Wagner contributed 23 points and five assists, but no other Magic player scored more than Jonathan Isaac’s seven points. Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 13 rebounds.

Boston led 26-18 after one quarter and extended its lead to 12 points — its largest lead of the first half — when Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer with 10:50 left in the second quarter.

A 9-0 Orlando run sliced Boston’s lead to two points, then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining gave the Magic a 45-44 edge. The Magic led 49-48 at halftime as Banchero scored 19 points.

The Celtics scored 28 of the first 38 points in the third quarter and held a 76-59 advantage following Brown’s dunk with 1:56 left in the quarter. Boston had a 78-67 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

The Celtics led 89-71 early in the fourth and extended the lead to 19 points as the Magic never threatened.

Boston was 16-of-37 from 3-point range. Orlando was 10-of-27 from behind the 3-point arc, but was held to three 3-pointers in the second half.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Don’t Cook at Home

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will try to avoid losing back-to-back games at home for the first time this season when they face the visiting Phoenix Suns tonight. After going unbeaten during a six-game road trip, Boston suffered a 124-103 home loss to Miami on Wednesday. Boston (56-20) has lost back-to-back games twice this season, but the first loss came on the road on both occasions.

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The Celtics have a 32-7 record on the road, but are 24-13 at home.

“We were on the road for 10, 12 days,” Jaylen Brown said. “Not an excuse or anything, but those first games back — that’s always a tough one just from a calibration standpoint. We’ve been in three, four different time zones, three different time zones. You’ve been away from home. You just get home and kind of get settled, and then you have to play a basketball game.

“It’s not an excuse. Of course we don’t make excuses. But first game back off a long road trip is always tough.”

Brown, who has been playing with a bone bruise in his right knee, scored a team-high 24 points in the loss to Miami. Following the game, Brown said he was playing through some pain.

“I’ve had to come to grips that every night I’m not going to feel my normal self, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t make plays and things like that,” he said. “So it’s just something that we are working through. (Wednesday) was a good step forward. I got some stuff lined up with the medical staff in order to be and feel better come playoffs. But as for now, just mentally working through not feeling great, but still able to find ways to be effective.”

Brown is listed as questionable for Friday’s game.

Boston’s Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Al Horford (toe) and Kristaps Porzingis (return from illness reconditioning) weren’t available to play in Wednesday’s loss. None were listed on Thursday’s injury report.

Phoenix (35-41) enters Friday’s matchup on a four-game losing streak. The Suns are 11th in the Western Conference standings — one game behind Sacramento — and need to move up one spot to qualify for the play-in tournament.

The Suns also need to get healthy. Kevin Durant is nursing a sprained ankle and isn’t expected back in the lineup until Tuesday’s home game against Golden State at the earliest. Durant is averaging 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games this season.

Bradley Beal has also missed the last eight games with a left hamstring strain. Beal has played in 48 games this season and is averaging 17.3 points per contest.

“We still can make a run,” Beal said. “Obviously we’ve got to be healthy, get healthy, be available. The playoffs, anything can happen, man, but we’re a talented team and believe in what we can do. We’ve just got to give ourselves that opportunity.”

Beal didn’t play when Boston earned a 132-102 victory at Phoenix on March 26. Jayson Tatum didn’t suit up for Boston because of a sprained ankle. Tatum is fifth in the NBA in scoring (27.0 ppg).

Porzingis (30) was Boston’s leading scorer in the win. Phoenix received a team-high 30 points from Durant.

–Field Level Media

NBA Makes $154.6m Cap Projection

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -The NBA will increase the salary cap by 10 percent for the 2025-26 season, according to multiple reports from the NBA’s annual Board of Governors meeting. The increase — the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement — is reportedly projected to bring the cap number from $140.6 million to $154.6 million. Additionally, the luxury tax threshold is projected to rise from $170.8 million to $187.9 million, per Tuesday’s report.

For teams that exceed the luxury tax, the First Apron level is projected to be $195.9 million and the Second Apron level to be $207.8 million.

It is a move that was anticipated ahead of the league’s new broadcast rights kicking in next season. This increase would mark the third time in the past four years that the salary cap has increased by 10 percent.

–Field Level Media

Celtics, Tatum Defeat the Heat

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 28 points, leading the visiting Boston Celtics to a 103-91 win over the slumping Miami Heat on Friday night. Boston (48-19) also got 25 points from Jrue Holiday, who made 10 of 15 shots, including shooting 5-of-8 on 3-pointers.

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Derrick White was key for the Celtics as he scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, he was 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. But he made 3-of-5 from deep in the fourth quarter.

The Heat (29-37), who are 9-25 versus teams with a record of .500 or more, have lost a season-high six straight games. A 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter keyed by a White trey gave the Celtics breathing room and they cruised from there.

Boston, which is 16-4 over its past 20 games, made 19 3-pointers to just 13 for Miami.

Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 23 points, and the Heat got 19 points and a game-high six assists from Tyler Herro.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, sat out the game due to a right-knee injury. Boston replaced the 6-6 Brown with 7-1 Luke Kornet in the starting lineup.

Miami switched up its starting lineup, too, but not due to injury. The Heat started Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Duncan Robinson in place of Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell … but to no avail.

To open the game, Boston made its first five shots to take a 14-6 lead. The first four of those shots were 3-pointers.

Miami, though, hung in there, trailing just 30-23 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Heat tied the score 37-37 on a 3-pointer by Mitchell. After a Celtics miss, Miami took its first lead of the game, 39-37, on a Pelle Larsson cutting dunk with 5:34 left in the half.

Miami held Boston to 25.0 percent shooting in the second quarter as the teams went into halftime tied, 50-50. Miami shot 61.1 percent in the second quarter, including a 12-4 edge in paint points.

Holiday led all first-half scorers with 16 points. Wiggins had 14 points for Miami.

Miami led by as many as five points in the third, but the Celtics recovered to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth.

Boston then started the fourth with its 10-2 run, and Miami never got back on top.

–Field Level Media

OKC Thunder Into Boston

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BOSTON – Two of the favorites to win this year’s NBA championship will meet Wednesday night when the Boston Celtics close out a seven-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Boston will enter the game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. The Celtics have won five in a row and are 5-1 on their current homestand with the lone loss coming against the Cavaliers on Feb. 28.

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Oklahoma City, which is at the top of the Western Conference standings, is coming off Monday’s 140-127 home loss to Denver, which ended the team’s seven-game winning streak. The host Thunder beat the Nuggets 127-103 one night earlier.

“We play so many games, so many good teams in the league — a win is never as good as it seems,” Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “A (loss) is never as bad as it seems. That’s what I always tell myself. (Sunday) night, I went to bed and was like, ‘Tomorrow’s gonna be a new day, you have to play them again. If you lose, you’re gonna have a terrible feeling.’

“It’s life. It’s basketball. Just gotta stay level-headed and learn from your mistakes and try to be better tomorrow.”

Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams didn’t play in the second half of Monday’s loss with what the team described as a right hip strain. Williams was injured when Denver’s Peyton Watson landed on him after Watson committed a foul with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter.

Following Monday’s game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Williams would be evaluated further on Tuesday. Williams is averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this season.

The Celtics avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss by holding on to defeat the Jazz 114-108 on Monday. Boston nearly squandered a 24-point lead against visiting Utah, which is last in the Western Conference standings.

“I think a game like tonight, I think you would call it a trap game,” Boston’s Derrick White said following Monday’s victory. “We just had a big game against the Lakers (on Saturday), and obviously OKC’s coming in in two days. So games like this, it’s going to be up, it’s going to be down. You’ve just got to find a way to win them.”

The game also will feature two of the league’s marquee players in Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-best 32.7 points per game and is a strong candidate to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. Tatum, who didn’t play in Boston’s victory over Utah on Monday because of a right knee issue, is averaging 27.2 points per game, which is tied for fourth.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and 11 rebounds when Oklahoma City earned a 105-92 home victory against Boston on Jan. 5. Tatum finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder held the Celtics to 27 points in the second half of that game. Boston was just 9 of 46 (19.6 percent) on 3-point attempts.

It remains unclear when Kristaps Porzingis will be available for Boston. Porzingis has missed the last six games with a viral illness.

“He’s doing what he can to get back,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “But he kind of said it best … at the same time, we’ve just got to kind of make sure he’s good, and we do what’s best for him.”

–Field Level Media

Bridgeman Passes Suddenly, 71

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LOUISVILLE – Former Louisville Cardinals college star, NBA legend and Milwaukee Bucks part-team owner Junior Bridgeman collapsed and died on Tuesday. He was 71.

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Bridgeman had a medical emergency while at a luncheon at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. He reportedly told a reporter he thought he was having a heart attack. First responders were summoned and he was transported from the scene by ambulance.

The Al J. Schneider Company, which owns the hotel, confirmed Bridgeman’s death on Tuesday evening.

“Junior Bridgeman was an integral part of our community. From his athletic impact to his philanthropic efforts, he will be deeply missed,” Lance George, chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bridgeman family during this time.”

Bridgeman was a billionaire entrepreneur and a big name in Louisville in addition to his basketball exploits.

Just six months ago, he purchased a 10 percent ownership stake in the Bucks. He reportedly bought it at a $3.4 billion valuation.

“The Milwaukee Bucks are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Bucks legend and owner Junior Bridgeman,” the Bucks said in a statement. Junior’s retired No. 2 jersey hangs in Fiserv Forum, serving as a constant remembrance of his outstanding play on the court and his impact on the Bucks’ success.

“His hard work and perseverance led him to become one of the nation’s top business leaders and, last September, Junior’s professional life came full circle when he returned to the Bucks family as an owner. His memory will always be an inspiration to the Bucks organization.”

Bridgeman arrived on the scene while playing for the University of Louisville for three seasons (1972-75) and was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 87 games. The Cardinals reached the Final Four in his last season, losing 75-74 in overtime to powerful UCLA.

 

A BAD, BAD, BAD LOSS

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BOSTON – Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell scored 41 points, including 26 in the second half, as the visiting Cavaliers extended their winning streak to nine games by beating the Boston Celtics 123-116 Friday night in a matchup of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

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Cavs All-Star point guard Darius Garland added 20 points for Cleveland, which trailed by 22 points less than five minutes into the game. The Cavaliers have won their last seven road games and own the NBA’s best overall record (49-10).

Boston’s Jayson Tatum had season highs of 46 points and 16 rebounds, and added nine assists for Boston, which has lost two in a row and dropped to 18-11 at home. The Celtics were missing starters Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jrue Holiday (hand).

The Celtics also got 37 points from Jaylen Brown, who tied the game at 114-114 on a jump shot with 3:15 to play. Mitchell gave Cleveland a 116-114 lead on a floater that began a 7-0 spurt by the Cavaliers.

Mitchell made 13 of 26 field goal attempts and was 10 of 11 from the free-throw line. Cleveland’s Evan Mobley finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The Celtics made seven of their first nine 3-point attempts and had a 38-26 advantage after one quarter. Boston scored the game’s first 11 points and led 25-3 with 7:11 remaining in the quarter.

Cleveland trailed 49-47 with 6:25 remaining in the first half, but Boston had a 74-64 halftime lead. Tatum had 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the half.

Boston pushed its lead to 17 points with just over eight minutes left in the third, but Cleveland was within 98-95 entering the fourth quarter.

The Cavaliers led for the first time when Mobley made a 3-pointer that put Cleveland up 104-101 with 8:43 to play.

The teams split their four regular-season meetings this season.

–Field Level Media

Pistons Extend Streak, Crush Celtics

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BOSTON – Malik Beasley scored 26 points in 22 minutes off the bench and the host Detroit Pistons extended their winning streak to eight games by cooling off the Boston Celtics 117-97 on Wednesday.

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Detroit now has its longest winning streak in 17 years. The last time the Pistons won eight or more consecutive games came in 2008, when they strung together 10 victories from Jan. 23-Feb. 13.

Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 11 assists for Detroit, and Tobias Harris tossed in 16 points while grabbing nine rebounds. Jalen Duren added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics, who saw their six-game winning streak snapped, with 27 points. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard had 18 points apiece, while Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 11 points. Al Horford logged nine points and 10 rebounds.

Boston played without Jaylen Brown (left thigh contusion).

The Pistons led by nine points after the first quarter and pushed the advantage early in the second. Boston rallied to tie it at 55-apiece entering halftime by making 11 3-pointers in the second quarter.

Tatum led the Celtics at the break with 15 points, while White and Pritchard had 12 apiece. Beasley led the Pistons with 12 points.

Detroit regained the lead by scoring the first six points in the third quarter, including a Cunningham 3-pointer. The Pistons extended the lead to double digits, 77-66, with 4:38 left in the quarter on a Duren tip-in. Duren also scored the next two Detroit baskets off passes from Cunningham.

A Beasley 3-pointer upped the advantage to 84-71, and the Pistons were up 90-79 as the quarter ended.

Boston committed turnovers on its first three possessions in the fourth. Beasley took advantage on the first two giveaways by knocking down 3-pointers. Ronald Holland II’s putback gave Detroit a 98-79 lead. Cunningham made a layup midway through the final quarter for a 106-87 advantage.

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla soon went deep into his bench, essentially conceding the Detroit victory. The Celtics still won the season series, 3-1.

–Field Level Media