After the emotional jolt from Kristaps Porzingis’s return against the Clippers Monday wore off, the score was tied at 10 and the Celtics had plenty of work ahead.

Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser entered soon after, and the lead began to expand soon after that. Both players hit 3-pointers to help Boston take a 27-20 advantage after one period, and they started the second by combining to hit three 3-pointers over a 67-second stretch. Suddenly, that 10-10 score had been transformed into a 36-22 lead.

“When we’re out there, we’re just trying to play the right basketball,” Pritchard said. “[Our teammates] know if our guys help and we’re open that they should kick the ball and let us take that open shot instead of forcing something up. I feel like we have great rhythm as a team. We understand if you attack the paint, two on the ball, you kick it. Everybody’s capable of knocking down shots.”

After the emotional jolt from Kristaps Porzingis’s return against the Clippers Monday wore off, the score was tied at 10 and the Celtics had plenty of work ahead.

Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser entered soon after, and the lead began to expand soon after that. Both players hit 3-pointers to help Boston take a 27-20 advantage after one period, and they started the second by combining to hit three 3-pointers over a 67-second stretch. Suddenly, that 10-10 score had been transformed into a 36-22 lead.

“When we’re out there, we’re just trying to play the right basketball,” Pritchard said. “[Our teammates] know if our guys help and we’re open that they should kick the ball and let us take that open shot instead of forcing something up. I feel like we have great rhythm as a team. We understand if you attack the paint, two on the ball, you kick it. Everybody’s capable of knocking down shots.”

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Pritchard and Hauser were far from done, however. After the Celtics roared to a 78-49 halftime lead the Clippers began to whittle away at the deficit in the third quarter.

When Pritchard and Hauser returned, Boston’s advantage had been sliced to 86-71. Then the duo combined to drain three 3-pointers over a 72-second span, ensuring that there would be no uneasy moments down the stretch of the 126-94 win.

Pritchard was 7 for 13 from the field and 6 for 10 from the 3-point line and finished with 20 points and four assists. The Celtics outscored the Clippers by 30 points during his 25:46 on the floor. Hauser was 3 for 3 from the 3-point line and had 9 points, and the Celtics were plus-27 during his 23 minutes.

The two shared the court for most of the night, continuing to build on their two-man game that is built on sharpshooting. This season, Pritchard and Hauser have played 296 minutes together, by far the most common pairing that does not include two starters, and the Celtics have outscored opponents by 10.1 points per 100 possessions with them on the floor.

“Our chemistry grows every single day, because we’re always working out with each other,” Hauser said. “I feel like each of us does different things well on the court that complement each other in a unique way. It’s been special to see what Payton’s been doing this year. He’s really been playing well. I’ve known for a while he’s been able to do this, so I’m glad everyone else is getting a chance to see it.”

Their workouts are usually led by assistant coach Craig Luschenat, and Hauser said they are focused on the shots and locations that they’ll most commonly find during games. There is no waste.

“And it can change,” Hauser said. “Say one game we get a certain shot more than the others, maybe we throw that into a workout the next day.”

Of course, those shots only arrive because their more famous teammates trust them to take them. On Monday night, seven of the duo’s nine 3-pointers were assisted by Celtics starters.

“They understand that those guys are guys that take the pressure off them, those guys are able to give us a different look,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “So I like the fact that our team has an understanding that everyone’s got a role, everyone’s got a strength, and we can go to different frequencies.”

And when Hauser and Pritchard are on the floor together, there are no bad choices for the others.

“I think the best part about our team is we all know we need each other to be great,” Hauser said. “That’s how we won last year and that’s what we’re trying to do this year again. Obviously for us to reach our maximum potential it’s us trusting one another and being confident in one another that it doesn’t always have to be Jayson [Tatum] and Jaylen [Brown]. We can help them out in different ways to give them a rest sometimes.”