Celtics’ Payton Pritchard breaks Jarred Vanderbilt ankles with nasty stepback

The Boston Celtics have come back from the All-Star break on something of a mission. They pummeled the Golden State Warriors in their first game after the break, and they are off to a solid start against the Los Angeles Lakers Sunday night.

PAYTON PRITCHARD DROPPED JARRED VANDERBILT WITH A STEPBACK pic.twitter.com/bbsuPu0Ora

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The Celtics have built the second-best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Detroit Pistons. and they have won 10 of their last 13. The Celtics are hoping to continue their winning ways against the Lakers on the night that 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 they had huge performances form starters Jaylen Brown (13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists) and Derrick White (10 points, 5 assists) and Payton Pritchard off the bench (11 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists).

Pritchard made an unbelievable move when he hit a step-back 3-point shot midway through the second quarter. On the play, he feinted as if he was going inside and Laker defender Jarred Vanderbilt headed to the paint. Instead, Pritchard dropped back a step and hit a 3-pointer. As the shot fluttered through the net, Vanderbilt lost his balance and his composure and fell to the floor in the late, 20 feet away from Pritchard.

If that wasn’t enough, Pritchard had the ball as the clock drained in the final moments of the second quarter. He hit a long 3-pointer over Luka Doncic just as the horn sounded, giving the Celtics their 10-point lead midway through the game.

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