It was a career night against the Toronto Raptors for rookie point guard Payton Pritchard before he’d hardly even started his NBA career — and nearly so for All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum. And fellow star wing Jaylen Brown didn’t play too shabby either.
Tatum led all scorers with 40 points — just shy of his career-high of 41 — and 6 rebounds while scorching the Raps 5-of-8 from 3 and 13-for-13 from the line. Pritchard put up a new high of 23 points and 8 rebounds, while Brown added a comparatively quiet 19 points and 5 boards on 7-of-16 shooting, hitting an impressive 8-of-13 overall, and 2 of his 4 attempts from beyond the arc.
It was exactly the sort of night this team needed to move forward towards becoming the contender it was in the Disney bubble restart last season, returning much of the same roster with a few new faces addressing key weaknesses.
And while a number of players being out would have been a perfect excuse to take their foot off the gas and mail in a scheduled loss, this crew — and especially this trio — dug deep and found a way to not only win but excel.
Watch the videos embedded above to see Tatum, Brown and Pritchard go to town on their northern brethren deep in the south at their temporary Tampa abode.
