The heave-making fourth-quarter star Payton Pritchard the Boston Celtics need to make a repeat NBA title run - ESPN

FROM THE SOLD-OUT stands in Boston's TD Garden, Terry Pritchard could feel the swell of anticipation building around him as his son checked in to the game with four seconds left before halftime. Seated about nine rows behind the Celtics bench, Terry rose from his seat, along with thousands more, anticipating what might happen next.

It was June 17, 2024, and the Celtics were hosting the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. At that moment in a potential title-clinching game for Boston, Mavericks star Luka Doncic was at the free throw line, trying to convert a three-point play. Celtics guard Payton Pritchard had checked in for Derrick White, with the Celtics comfortably leading by 18 points.

From his perch in a fifth-floor suite above midcourt, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens looked on, and he, like everyone else in the arena — if not the entire league — knew what would happen next..

«He'll never not take a heave,» Stevens told ESPN of Pritchard. «It's not about what his shooting percentages are. It's about winning. And I love that.»

The shots provide huge momentum swings and are often worth more than the point total, Stevens said. Pritchard proved as much in Game 2, when he sank a buzzer-beating 34-footer at the end of the third quarter — his only points of the game — that gave the Celtics an eight-point lead.

Boston won, and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla called it the «play of the game.»

With the Celtics seemingly cruising toward their 18th championship in Game 5, Doncic missed his free throw. Celtics big man Al Horford grabbed the rebound with two seconds left, turned his head and immediately passed to Pritchard, who was calling for the ball.

«Here's Pritchard,» broadcaster Mike Breen