The Boston Celtics earned their 50th win over the 2025-26 campaign on Sunday night, as they handed the Charlotte Hornets a 114-99 defeat. Even though both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were out, Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard combined for 60 points to ensure the C’s would come out on top in this one.
Over each of the past five seasons, the Celtics have now won at least 50 games, with Pritchard being a part of every one of those campaigns. Even with Tatum missing the majority of the season, Boston hasn’t skipped a beat, and after this win, Pritchard revealed just how this team managed to win at such a high rate without arguably its best player.
“It’s a culture thing,” Pritchard said. “Every guy shows up every game ready to compete and help winning. So, it’s definitely the culture we built here.”
In a lot of ways, Pritchard has come to personify the grit that has helped make the Celtics so dangerous. Even after winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award last season, Pritchard has found a way to take his game to another level, as he’s averaging career-highs across the board (17 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.1 APG) while playing in 72 games to this point.
With Pritchard becoming a trusted weapon on offense for Boston, he has helped keep the team afloat during Tatum’s absence. And now that he’s back on the floor for the Celtics, it feels like the sky’s the limit. The C’s will look to earn win No. 51 on Monday night when they take the court in the second night of a back-to-back against the Atlanta Hawks.
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