Oregon Basketball's Payton Pritchard Kicked In Face: One Step Closer To NBA Title

A flying foot caught former Oregon men's basketball player Payton Pritchard as his Boston Celtics eliminated the Indiana Pacers to reach the NBA Finals.

May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson (22) in the first half during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Following the Boston Celtics win in game four of the Eastern Conference Finals, NBC Sports Boston caught up with former Oregon Duck Payton Pritchard, who was sporting a bruised cheek thanks to an inadvertent kick by Indiana Pacer, Isaiah Jackson.

When asked if he had ever been kicked in the face before during a basketball game, Pritchard joked, “maybe when I was younger, but definitely not at the NBA level, so this is different.”

Any sting from the kick was more than offset by the Celtics 105-102 victory over the Pacers and the chance to play for an NBA title.

“It’s definitely special, a special group," Pritchard said. "We have our mindset on hanging the championship banner. We are going to take this in, but our focus is on, you know, winning the next series now, so that’s our goal.”

May 23, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) dribbles the ball against Indiana Pacers forward Isaiah Jackson (22) in the first half during game two of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

This was a hotly contested series with games one, three, and four being decided by a total of 11 points and the Pacers having a decent chance at taking any of the four. However, the Celtics showed a great deal of poise and resilience to pull out those wins.

“We’ve (learned) we can be solid down the stretch and in tight moments and we can come through,” Pritchard said. “Guys are ready to step up in those moments.”

Boston’s toughness has been questioned throughout the year, but the way the Celtics fought through adversity isn’t lost on Pritchard.

“I think we have been battle tested,” Pritchard said. “This is something that the media and other people want to always throw out there at us, but we’ve been going through this whole year and years in the past we’ve gone through a lot, and I think we are ready for this moment.”

Pritchard and his teammates will celebrate this series win but are not satisfied with just reaching the NBA finals.

“Yes, I’ll celebrate (this one) and definitely something you are going to remember forever, but like I said before, we want to hang our championship banner,” Pritchard said. “We’ve done this (reaching the NBA Finals). So, the next step is winning a championship.”

The Celtics and Pritchard now await the winner of the Western Conference series that features the Dallas Mavericks against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Game one of the NBA Finals is scheduled for June 6, 5:30 p.m. PDT on ABC, giving Pritchard some more time to recover from Jackson’s flying foot.