Celtics’ Peyton Pritchard breaks Jared Vanderbilt’s ankles with a nasty step back
The Boston Celtics they returned from the All-Star break on something of a mission. They beat the Golden State Warriors in their first game back from the break and are off to a good start against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night.
The Celtics built the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons. and have won 10 of their last 13. The Celtics hope to continue their winning ways against the Lakers on a night when the franchise honors legendary head coach Pat Riley.
The Celtics were not distracted in the first half. They took a 60-50 lead into the locker room at halftime and had a great performance from the starters Jaylen Brown (13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists) and Derrick White (10 points, 5 assists) and Peyton Pritchard off the bench (11 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists).
Pritchard made an incredible move when he hit a step back by 3 points in the middle of the second quarter. During the play, he feigned going inside, and Lakers guard Jared Vanderbilt headed for the paint. Instead, Pritchard took a step back and hit a 3-pointer. As the shot flew through the net, Vanderbilt lost his balance and composure and fell to the floor in the late hours, 20 feet from Pritchard.
If that wasn’t enough, Pritchard had the ball as the clock expired in the final moments of the second quarter. He hit a long 3-pointer over Luka Doncic as the buzzer sounded, giving the Celtics a 10-point lead midway through the game.
2026-02-23 01:06:00
