LAS VEGAS — Anton Watson received a spot start. Jaelen House played crunch time. Neemias Queta, Jaden Springer and Drew Peterson all sat as the Celtics began looking at the end of their summer bench, Tyler Cook, Tristan Enaruna and House all logged their first significant minutes in Las Vegas against a Hornets team led by Nick Smith Jr., James Banks III and Zavier Simpson. Those players and House ended the night jarring. Something DJ MacLeay saw as a wake-up call for his group.
“I thought it was awesome,” he said. “We’ve been talking about finding joy, and that game wasn’t going our way for long stretches, but one of the things we try to preach constantly is staying in the fight, continuing to work, having that mindset, and I thought Jaelen House, Tristan and Tyler Cook came in and they were great in terms of providing energy.”
Watson hit a game-tying baseline jumper, House buried four late free throws and Jahmi’us Ramsey’s pull-up three with 1:07 left in the fourth quarter swung a close game Boston’s way for a second straight win, 89-84. Watson posted 15 points with five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Ramsey added 15 more as they led all Celtics scorers.
Queta, Springer and Peterson’s absence initially left JD Davison, Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman to lead the Celtics offensively, while Watson and Killian Tillie moved into the starting lineup in the front court. The mixed results for Boston’s younger players continued on offense. Walsh didn’t make a field goal early, split four free throw attempts late in the second quarter and turned the ball over twice, including a skyrocketing dunk attempt over Brandon Slater that resulted in an offensive foul. He missed all five shots and scored two points.
“The big thing for him is maintaining a level of competition and trying to compete on each possession,” MacLeay said. “I think, in general, he’s trying to do that. Maybe his shot hasn’t been where we expected it to be over the first three days, but just in general, I think maintaining a mindset of working and getting better each day.”
Watson built on his more subtle success from his first two games of Summer League, which featured 6-for-10 shooting from the field with only two three-point attempts. He took one on the first shot of the game Wednesday following a Davison kick-out, draining it. Davison set up a pair of Killie threes and hit a posting hook in the lane himself to give Boston an early 8-4 lead. The Hornets tied the game at 19 by the end of the first, running in transition and getting to the free throw line. Scheierman started slow, missing a pair of threes and free throws.
In the second, Ron Harper Jr., Davison and Walsh scored to keep pace with Charlotte’s continued transition attack. Smith hit three shots from deep for the Hornets, though giving Charlotte a 39-32 lead into the second half. Watson scored five straight into the third to cut the deficit to one, but the Hornets answered with a 9-0 run to go ahead by double digits. Davison scored twice, Scheierman added another basket and bench scoring from Ramsey and Harper gave Boston a chance into the fourth.
They took the game there, as House and other Celtics jarred with Hornets players, Cook, Enaruna, Ramsey and Tillie all scored to keep Boston within one point. Cook put back a third-chance dunk with five minutes left to tie the game at 68, then Ramsey’s three and a baseline Watson jumper tied it at 77 with three left.
“He’s already an NBA level defender,” MacLeay said of Watson. “He has things that he’s gotta work on on that side of the floor that we’re trying to help him with, but if he can prove that he can knock downs those shots and shows an awareness to take them without a hesitation, he’s gonna be a really good player for us and he provides a lot of versatility because of his switchability and his ability to guard the basketball. In general, we’re really trying to build those habits in him and trying to encourage him. As you saw today, he made a couple. It looks good. I think that he can really shoot it and he needs to continue to believe that and shoot every time he gets an opportunity.”
House hit four free throws, two to gain a brief lead and another to ice the game after Matt Morgan’s three took the lead back and Ramsey did the same for Boston. House ran back on defense, yelling at the Charlotte player who called his shot broken. That’s not who he is off the floor, House said after, but on it, he changes due to his love for the game.
“Whenever somebody talks, I feel like I gotta get the last laugh every time … it kind of got me fired up,” House said. “Just sitting on the bench for a little bit, I’m just anxious to get in the game. I’m just coming out firing.”
