Celtics rest, overtake Hornets 131-98

BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored a career-high 31 points and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 131-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.

Pritchard added 11 assists for his second double-double this season and helped the Celtics avoid losing three straight games in a season for the first time since 2010-11.

Luke Kornet finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta both also scored 16 points for Boston, which led by 33 and had just six turnovers.

Pritchard will be counted on to come off the bench in the playoffs and coach Joe Mazzulla said his performance was indicative of how much he has grown and embraced his role this season.

“Just being a complete player from a game standpoint is going to be different,” Mazzulla said. “It affects the game in different ways. Obviously, having a consistent role for an entire season is really beneficial.

The Celtics’ top six rotation players — Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford — all sat out with nagging illnesses on what was essentially an off night for them. Boston has already secured the Eastern Conference top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

They will likely get another day off Sunday when Boston concludes its regular season schedule against Washington.

It will also likely mean another start for Pritchard, who is looking to play in all 82 regular season games for the first time in his four-year career.

“It’s definitely a big accomplishment for me,” Pritchard said. “Playing 82 games is tough, but throughout the summer the work I did to prepare my body for that (helped). But also just my journey, last year, my sophomore year, times where I wasn’t playing at all, how frustrating it is and how much it hurts sometimes. But it just motivated me to keep working.

Tre Mann led the Hornets with 19 points and eight assists. Nick Smith Jr. added 15 points.

The absences gave the Celtics an opportunity to give rookie Jordan Walsh some playing time and call up two-way players Queta, JD Davison and Drew Peterson from the G League to replace him, one night after all playing with the Maine to Oklahoma City. in Game 2, the G League Finals. Maine hosts the Oklahoma City Blue in Portland on Sunday to crown the G League champion.

The Hornets have been out of playoff contention since March 23 and played without former Celtic Grant Williams, who is out with a right ankle injury, and Nick Richards (right plantar fascia).

FOLLOWING

Hornets: At the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in the regular season finale.

Celtics: Host the Wizards in their finale on Sunday.