PHILADELPHIA — Sandwiched between Jayson Tatum’s two late-game 3-pointers Friday night was a similarly clutch triple from Payton Pritchard.

With the Celtics leading the 76ers by two in the closing minutes of Game 3, Tatum zipped a pass to Pritchard in the corner. When the Boston guard received the ball, he had 2.5 seconds remaining on the shot clock and 6-foot-8 Kelly Oubre Jr. in his face — not an ideal scenario for most NBA shooters.

But Pritchard, who spends hours each offseason working on those exact situations, took one half-step to his right and two to his left to lose Oubre, then buried a 26-footer as the horn sounded.

Boston went on to win 108-100 to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

“I was aware (of the shot clock),” Pritchard said Saturday at the Celtics’ team hotel in downtown Philadelphia. “I looked around, I said, ‘Dang, JT, you threw me a grenade.’ I like grenades, though, so I live for those moments.”

HUGE SHOT BY PAYTON PRITCHARD 🥶

BOSTON UP 5. 1 MINUTE REMAINING IN G3! pic.twitter.com/5AFyaeWT8w

— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2026

The pivotal three capped a resurgent outing for Pritchard, who struggled in the Celtics’ Game 2 loss at TD Garden (four points, 2-of-8, 0-of-4 from 3-point range). In Game 3, Boston’s sixth man played 33 minutes — including the final 17:37 of regulation — scored 15 points, went 5-for-10 from three, grabbed two offensive rebounds and was a plus-18.

“Just (wanted) to come out with more pop, more aggression,” he said. “I obviously was really disappointed in how I came out in Game 2. I just was flat. Did not give the game what it needed or my team, and it hurt us. … I don’t even think (Friday’s) game was necessarily a great game by any means, but it was a step in the right direction.”

As for the choice words he barked out after his big shot, Pritchard said he “probably blacked out in the moment” and couldn’t remember what he said. It was the latest in a long line of buzzer-beaters he’s converted since becoming a permanent fixture in the Celtics’ rotation two years ago.

“I think it’s an ability to almost check the clock within a small window of right when I get the ball,” Pritchard said. “Or analyzing, knowing, like, when JT was dribbling, I could tell that there was three seconds left. So when he swung it, I knew, like, it’s almost like a clock in my mind of like how much time, if I had one to two dribbles, or something like that. So in that instance, I knew I only had about one dribble, pump fake, side-step. So the ability to see the clock, and then just have a clock in your mind.”

Other notes from Saturday’s Celtics media session:

Queta foul trouble

Starting center Neemias Queta played just 12 minutes and 46 seconds in Game 3, his lowest total of the season in a game he did not exit due to injury. He also was limited to 15 minutes in Game 1, a mark he topped in all but four of his 75 regular-season appearances.

Queta dominated this same 76ers team back in March (27 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks), but fouling issues have blunted his impact so far in this series. The 7-footer committed two fouls in the first four minutes of Games 1 and 3.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla kept Queta on the bench for the entire fourth quarter Friday night, choosing to roll with veteran backup Nikola Vucevic (11 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks, four turnovers in 31 minutes).

“I would say mostly the early fouls,” Mazzulla said when asked about Queta’s limited playing time. “But again, it goes back to, I would say Vuc was great last night. He did great stuff for us on both ends of the floor, really in his shot-making, but also his screening and his playmaking. So mostly (it was a result of) his foul trouble. Obviously, we need Neemi to be at his best for us to be a great team, and we’ve just got to continue to have it.”

Fouling wasn’t a major issue for Queta during the regular season, his first as an NBA starter. He averaged 4.0 per 36 minutes — the lowest mark of his career — and fouled out three times, including once in overtime. He’s averaged 7.7 fouls per 36 in this series against a Sixers team that’s been playing without star center Joel Embiid (appendectomy).

“I’ve just got to be better,” Queta said. “Picking up early fouls. First quarter, four minutes, three minutes in. Two of them. It’s not good. You’re always going to be a step behind. You’re only going to be a shell of yourself if you’re doing that consistently. So I can’t be doing that. Team needs me out there, and I’ll be better.”

Queta’s four fouls in Game 3 included two illegal screens and one backcourt foul after a VJ Edgecombe rebound. The whistles marred an otherwise respectable night for the breakout big man, who had seven rebounds and two blocks in his limited floor time. He also drew two fouls to help fuel a third-quarter Celtics run.

“We’ve just got to be as disciplined as we can in our screening and our pick-and-roll defense,” Mazzulla said.

The coach’s message to Queta entering Game 4 on Sunday was simple: “Don’t foul.”

Off the rim

Mazzulla said Derrick White refused to exit the game after his awkward collision with Sixers center Adem Bona in the opening seconds, which the coach appreciated. “It wasn’t much of a (conversation),” Mazzulla said. “Derrick said, ‘I’m not coming out.’ So it’s just that simple.” White dealt with discomfort in his neck for the rest of the night, but he played 34 minutes. The veteran guard offset his continued shooting struggles by pulling down the offensive rebound that set up Tatum’s dagger three. Mazzulla said after the game that those who doubt White “don’t really care about winning.” … Queta said the Celtics aren’t yet concerned about a potential Embiid return, echoing similar statements made by White and Pritchard before Game 3. “(He’s) one of the best players of the last couple of years,” he said of the 2023 NBA MVP. “It can only be better for them if he’s out there and helping them. Not really worried about that yet.” Embiid has made progress in his recovery, but it remains unclear if he’ll be healthy enough to play in this series. “We’ll embrace the challenge if he comes,” Queta said.