Why Ime Udoka apologized to Chauncey Billups after Payton Pritchard’s scoring outburst in Celtics’ win over Blazers

Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka reacts in front of the bench during the first half of the team's NBA basketball game against the Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
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The Celtics-Blazers game had been long decided in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter on Saturday night but the Moda Center was still rocking as both benches took the floor thanks to Payton Pritchard.

The Oregon native erupted for 16 fourth quarter points in front of his hometown crowd, including four 3-point makes in a seven-minute stretch, which helped give Boston its biggest scoring night of the season (145 points) in the blowout win.

Pritchard’s 3-point shooting display caused mayhem on Boston’s bench after he hit his third consecutive 3-point attempt with 1:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Celtics starters went nuts on the sidelines after the make, running all the way to half court to celebrate Pritchard’s sensational outing in front of Oregon family and friends. The celebration was so lengthy that the Celtics bench was whistled for a technical foul for the excessive celebration that spread partially onto the court before Ime Udoka pulled a number of players back to the bench.

Udoka, a Portland native himself, smiled about the moment after his group settled down but it was clear the rookie head coach didn’t want his group to gloat too much against a Blazers team they will see again this year.

“You want to see (Pritchard) do well - the crowd is very supportive of a hometown hero, basically,” Udoka said. “Got a little out of hand to some extent with our guys getting over-zealous and getting a technical. I told them in the locker room to keep that professional.”

Pritchard had a chance to add to his season-high 19 points in the final minute of regulation, throwing up three more 3-point attempts on a single possession after his teammates kicked out offensive rebounds to him on the perimeter after his misses. The second-year guard missed all three shots and was in a position to take one more shot with the shot clock at 14 and 25 seconds remaining in regulation. However, Udoka and Boston’s assistant coaches adamantly signaled on the bench for Pritchard to hold the ball and take the shot clock violation instead.

It was clear after the game that Udoka wasn’t a fan of Pritchard getting overeager with his shooting in that final minute with such little time left on the clock in a blowout.

“Payton is a young guy who’s shooting it well and playing well, and what we would have liked to do is slow that down,” Udoka said. “We got three offensive rebounds and were getting it back up with 10, nine seconds left - hold that and respect the game. So I did apologize to Chauncey for that. Didn’t mean for it to get out of hand like that. That’s when things can get heated on the court. You’d like a little more understanding, but at the same time he’s playing in his hometown and you’re happy for him. But there’s a line not to cross there.”

Pritchard seemed torn when asked about the possession after the game, however.

“I mean, we’re hitting shots,” he said. “So I don’t know what they want us to do. At the same time, I get it, we were like free balling it, but we were just playing ball and hitting shots.”

Despite Udoka’s displeasure, Pritchard’s teammates relished seeing the guard’s success that capped off Boston’s best offensive outing of the season.

“It was great,” Dennis Schroder said. “I got a technical, I don’t know if I like it that much. No, I’m kidding. It’s great to see him in his hometown, where he played in college, ball like that. Just come in, he had a little bit of frustration because he didn’t see the court very much yet, but it’s great to see always these people who work hard every single day.

“I think Jayson Tatum, I think he mentioned that everybody in this locker room, they work, try to get better. And everybody try to help the team win. To see that paying off like that, getting hot in that fourth quarter, means a lot for me and my teammates for sure.

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