Celtics' Payton Pritchard may have locked up award with historic night

Derrick White scored 41 points and made nine three-pointers, while Pritchard did him one (or two) better, scoring 43 and hitting 10 threes. 

The 19 three-pointers is the most a pair of teammates has ever made in a single game — and it wasn't like they were chucking up shots. The two went 19-for-33 from behind the arc, crucial on a night where the rest of their teammates were 4-for-21.

Boston held off the suddenly-dangerous Portland Trail Blazers, 128-118, but in the fourth quarter, the duo got it done with two-pointers. White and Pritchard went 4-for-6 on twos, with Pritchard not attempting a single three in the final quarter, despite being one triple short of Marcus Smart's franchise record of 11 three-pointers.

After the game, he told reporters he didn't want to "force it."

Pritchard may not have wanted to force up an 11th three-pointer, but he did force his way into pole position for the Sixth Man of the Year race. He's now shooting 42.3% from three-point range, while he's eighth in the NBA in three-pointers, just behind Tatum (seventh) and White (fourth).

His only competition is Malik Beasley of the Detroit Pistons, who's second in the NBA in total threes and shooting 42.2% from deep. The difference? Beasley has started 13 games, to Pritchard's zero, and the Celtics are nine games ahead of the Pistons. According to FanDuel, Pritchard is -210 to win the award, while Beasley is second at +260.

Awards aside, Wednesday's game should be troubling for Boston's playoff opponents. With no Tatum and no Kristaps Porzingis, and with Jaylen Brown shooting 7-for-23, the Celtics still won by double digits. 

Their sixth man is dangerous — and White, their third or fourth man, is deadly in his own right.