The Boston Celtics walked into Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse for a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. But more importantly, it was a battle for the top of the Eastern Conference, as the Cavs entered the contest with a 0.5-game lead over Boston atop the standings. Unfortunately for the guys in green, the absences of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were too much to handle.

Donovan Mitchell exploded late in the fourth quarter, and the Celtics couldn’t generate enough offense outside of Payton Pritchard to overcome that hurdle. But that was the problem—the Cavs were locked in on Pritchard. They were legitimately scared of letting him shoot the ball.

Head coach Kenny Atkinson said as much after the game.

The Cavs were scared of Payton Pritchard

When asked about the Cavaliers’ fouling late in the game, he said that they would usually wait to intentionally foul until the last 10 seconds, but they didn’t want to risk Pritchard making a shot.

“I was like, ‘Screw that, we’re fouling,'” Atkinson said via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I don’t want to see Peyton Prichard come down and shoot a step back.”

Kenny Atkinson said that, typically, Cleveland would wait to foul until there was under 10 seconds left, but that against Boston he chose to do it earlier.

"I was like, 'Screw that, we're fouling,'" he said. "I don't want to see Peyton Prichard come down and shoot a step back."

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) December 2, 2024

Pritchard nearly went bucket for bucket with Mitchell. The Celtics guard poured in 17 points in the fourth, but Mitchell had 20. He just couldn’t quite keep up.

Despite a cold start to the game, Pritchard finished the night with 24 points, seven rebounds, and three assists on 7-of-16 shooting from the floor and 3-of-10 shooting from beyond the three-point line.

He’s been on a tear as of late, especially over the last two games. Pritchard almost single-handedly won the Celtics their NBA Cup game against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

Jayson Tatum had a monster night, but Pritchard was incredible in the fourth quarter of that one, too, pouring in 19 points, highlighted by a flurry of three-pointers.

Not only is Pritchard the favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, but he’s now evolved into a player that teams around the league are focused on every single night.

Doc Rivers talked about it earlier in the year, and now, Atkinson said the same. Pritchard is more than just a sixth man—he’s one of the most important players on the Celtics.

On a team with All-Stars, All-NBAers, and MVP candidates, Pritchard was on Atkinson’s mind late in the fourth quarter. That’s a testament to his hard work and desire to improve.

Pritchard has earned all of the opportunities he’s getting, and he’s making the most of them.