Payton Pritchard sent Jarred Vanderbilt sliding with a second-quarter ankle breaker before drilling a three in Boston’s 111-89 win in Los Angeles. The performance fueled the Celtics’ third straight victory and reinforced Pritchard’s impact off the bench.
Payton Pritchard humiliated Jarred Vanderbilt in the Boston Celtics’ regular-season game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
During a play in the second quarter, the Celtics guard pulled off a nasty step-back move that left Jarred Vanderbilt sliding across the court.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/2025752026953535588
SportsCenter posted the clip of the play via X (formerly Twitter).
“ANKLE BREAKER OF THE YEAR?!? 🤯Payton Pritchard dropped Vando off the screen 🤧,” the caption read.
It happened during the second quarter as Pritchard feinted a drive to the paint, causing Vanderbilt to lose his footing and fall nearly 10 feet away. The 2025 NBA Sixth Man of the Year went on to sink a three-pointer.
Embed X: https://twitter.com/JustinmTurpin/status/2025759908675920207
The Lakers forward was playing tight defense, but the change of direction sent him stumbling towards the paint. Pritchard didn’t just stop there. He finished the night with 30 points with six 3-pointers and eight assists, helping the Celtics to a 111-89 win over Los Angeles.
The Celtics trailed the Lakers 31-33 when Pritchard pulled off the move on Vanderbilt. Once Boston took the lead with a three-pointer, they didn’t look back. The visitors scored four more points to make it 7-0 and kept widening the gap, winning the game by 22 points.
While LeBron James hit the 43,000 regular-season points, Pritchard stole the show in LA. Jaylen Brown and Co. now sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 37-19 record following their third straight win. The Lakers are fifth in the Western Conference with a 34-22 record.
During the postgame conference, Pritchard said the team has many underrated players and is ready for the moment. The Celtics guard’s confidence has been through the roof.
Celtics HC on Payton Pritchard’s Performance Against The Lakers
The Boston Celtics are feasting on Payton Pritchard’s incredible run. The guard has scored 24+ points in six of the last seven games, and the Celtics have won all of those.
The Celtics head coach, Joe Mazulla, opened up about the 2020 first-round pick while addressing the media following the win.
“I think his confidence comes from his work ethic. I think it also comes from his humility,” Mazull said. “To be like, this is who I am, and this is what I have to do to get to where I want to get to. When you have that humility, you have that confidence, and you have the work ethic piece — he takes pride in working and working.”
Pritchard said that he knew he needed to be aggressive coming off the bench. When asked about sending Vanderbilt to the pain, the guard said that when he has the ball in his hands, he likes to dance with it.