The Boston Celtics seemed to be on the ropes as the Philadelphia 76ers mounted a huge comeback attempt in the third quarter. They even tied the game at one point, but thanks in part to Payton Pritchard, the Celtics were able to keep the 76ers at bay. Pritchard caught on fire from beyond the arc towards the latter half of the third period, and this could not have been more apparent with the three-ball he made with 3:02 remaining in the quarter.

With Pritchard and Tyrese Maxey going band for band from deep, it was the Celtics guard that had the final say. He launched a pull-up three from the right wing that bounced high off the back iron, but in some stroke of luck, it bounced off of the top of the backboard and ricocheted back onto the net for a three-ball to give Boston the lead for good.

Payton Pritchard 3-point attempt hits the back of the rim, goes up high, bounces off on the top of the backboard, and goes in

LOL pic.twitter.com/UFSiNGxQCx

— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) November 11, 2026

In fact, according to the NBC broadcast, Pritchard's shot bounced on the camera on top of the backboard and inadvertently broke it.

This was the start of a blistering Celtics run that saw them outscore the 76ers 41-22 from that point until the end of the fourth quarter. What was shaping up to be a thriller between two teams that have bad blood became a blowout victory for Boston in seemingly the blink of an eye — and Pritchard had a major say in it.

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Pritchard hit the 76ers for 18 points off the bench, and he turned the game around for Boston — finishing with a plus/minus of plus-26 on the night. The Celtics made 22 of their 49 attempts from beyond the arc on the night, and that was always going to be a difficult mathematical deficit for the 76ers to overcome.

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