Just 49 seconds into a 111-107 win Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors, Kemba Walker had eclipsed both his scoring total and shots made (four points on 1-for-12 shooting) from Boston’s loss Saturday against the Lakers.
“It felt good to see the ball go in,” he said. “I just wanted to be aggressive. I thought last game I wasn’t aggressive.”
It still wasn’t a great shooting night, as Walker finished 6 for 18 against the Warriors, but he had 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and didn’t turn the ball over in 31 minutes. Brad Stevens thought Walker was eager to make up for Saturday’s struggles.
“His spirit was really good. You could tell he was waiting for another chance to play,” Stevens said. “I thought he did a good job. No turnovers, five assists. Obviously, he scored the ball. I’m sure he would like to have shot it better, but I thought he looked good. It’s hard to score the ball at an efficient rate when you’re the one assigned to (Stephon) Curry at the start of the game.”
Walker was encouraged.
“After tough ones. You just have to find a way to bounce back. That’s what this league is all about. That’s what this game is all about. You can never keep your head down,” he said. “I just wanted to come out and be aggressive and help us get the win.”
Walker again is getting a night off Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings, as the Celtics continue their plan to not have Walker play on back-to-back nights. The team also announced that rookie guard Peyton Pritchard would remain out of the lineup as he recovers from a sprained right knee.
GRANT WILLIAMS was ready for a bigger role Tuesday. After playing 12 or fewer minutes in the Celtics’ previous four games, Williams had 15 points (on 4-for-4 shooting, including three 3s), four rebounds and two blocked shots in 27 minutes.
He was often at the back of the Celtics’ zone in smaller lineups and was effective barking out instructions.
Stevens said Williams’ lesser role in recent games wasn’t the result of poor play, but matchups.
“I don’t know if he was out of the rotation. I just think we’re going to play opponent to opponent with this group we have. Some nights will be his night. Some nights will be other people’s nights,” he said. “I thought he did a lot of good things for us tonight. It’s hard because you have to be up on all those screens (Stephen) Curry comes off. You also have to be physical and protect the paint. Grant gave us a little bit of both. I thought he did a good job in the back of our zone communicating and I thought he came up with some big rebounds.”
Williams wouldn’t say if he knew he was going to play more against the Warriors.
“I just try to stay ready, prepared. Sometimes you don’t know. That’s understandable,” he said. “Coach has a lot of different options. For me, it’s about staying ready even if I don’t know if I’m going in or not.”
Jayson Tatum was impressed.
“Grant played tremendous today. He really gave us that spark off the bench,” Tatum said. “That’s what he’s capable of. … We trust him in the biggest moments to come in and do what we need him to do.”
FOURTH-QUARTER offensive rebounding was huge for the Celtics. Boston turned six offensive rebounds into seven points in a game they won by four points.
The Celtics entered the game with a considerable size edge, with Golden State missing both James Wiseman and Marquese Chriss. That advantage got larger in the second half after Kevon Looney went down with an injury with two minutes left in the second half.
AN 18-POINT, 10-rebound effort isn’t a bad night for anybody, but compared to his big scoring numbers throughout 2020-21, it was a quiet night for Jaylen Brown.
But he did produce the highlight of the night. With the Celtics up 104-96, he blocked Kelly Oubre’s dunk. Walker fed him just after he crossed midcourt, and he threw down a hammer dunk to cap a 10-0 run.
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