Two Oregon Ducks are making noise as the NBA regular season winds down — Payton Pritchard with a pair of commanding performances for a Celtics team on cruise control, and Dillon Brooks delivering big buckets while courting controversy in Phoenix's frantic playoff scramble.
Pritchard Is Cooking in Boston
The Eugene product has quietly turned the final stretch into a showcase. On Thursday, Pritchard poured in 23 points against the Knicks in a losing effort, then answered back Friday with one of his best all-around lines of the season: 21 points, 10 assists, and a staggering +29 in just 29 minutes as Boston demolished the Pelicans 144-118. Over the full week — which included 17 points and three steals against Toronto on Sunday and 16 points off the bench against Milwaukee on Saturday — Pritchard averaged better than 17 points a game across four outings.
Boston is locked into a top-two seed in the East and resting starters periodically, which makes the minutes Pritchard is getting — and what he's doing with them — that much more notable. His playmaking role has expanded alongside his scoring, and his +29 Friday suggests the second unit doesn't miss a beat when the stars sit. With the Celtics built for a deep postseason run, Pritchard's ability to sustain this kind of output off the bench could be a meaningful edge come playoff time.
Brooks: Big Game, Bigger Headlines
Dillon Brooks had a week that captured everything that makes him one of the NBA's most polarizing figures. The former Duck was in the middle of a suspension scare heading into Tuesday's matchup against the Houston Rockets — his 18th technical foul of the season had triggered an automatic one-game ban — before the NBA rescinded the call and cleared him to play.
He suited up, and things didn't go particularly well. Brooks spent the Rockets game jawing at his former teammate Kevin Durant, and Durant answered in the most humiliating way possible: juking Brooks so badly that the Suns forward stumbled to his knees before Durant drove past him for a jumper. Houston rallied from 21 down to win 119-105 for their seventh straight victory.
Brooks rebounded emphatically Thursday, though. He dropped 28 points on the short-handed Dallas Mavericks — combining with Devin Booker's 37 for 65 points between them — as Phoenix held on 112-107 to clinch the No. 7 spot in the Western Conference. Brooks sealed it with a driving layup with 13.7 seconds remaining. He's also been candid off the court: a Players' Tribune piece this week had Brooks admitting he once tried to pinch Kawhi Leonard mid-game, calling himself a trash-talker "pretty much from the jump."
With the Suns now locked into the play-in tournament, how Brooks channels that competitive edge — and keeps his technical foul count in check — will define Phoenix's postseason ceiling alongside Booker and Jalen Green.
Two Ducks. Two very different vibes. Pritchard is quietly becoming a postseason wildcard for a championship contender. Brooks is being Brooks — which, for better or worse, is must-watch television every time he steps on the floor.
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