LAS VEGAS — It would’ve been difficult to emerge from a night where the Lakers and Bronny James played, and Jaylen Brown spoke about his Olympic team snub, that Neemias Queta would emerge as one of the larger headlines. He did so — scoring seven points in under three minutes to open the prime time Summer League matchup between Boston and LA at Thomas and Mack Center.
The Celtics shot ahead by double-digits early and mostly cruised to a 88-74 win over Dalton Knecht, James, Maxwell Lewis and the young Lakers. Queta scored 22 points with eight rebounds, three blocks and shot 7-for-10 to improve upon some inconsistent finishing around the basket during Boston’s loss to Miami on Saturday. He said the decision to return to the Celtics on a three-year deal an easy one.
“Credit to him, he wanted to play Summer League,” DJ MacLeay said. “The big challenge for him this summer has been some of our defensive stuff … we’re changing a lot on the defensive end. A lot of that is centered around helping him get integrated with what we do at the NBA level. He’s doing a good job.”
Jordan Walsh and Queta both critiqued their first game. Walsh called his performance against the Heat terrible, in part, because he focused on getting his own shot, grew frustrated through misses and didn’t impact the game in different ways. He drew Knecht minutes into the game and held his ground, stripping the Lakers rookie before trying to run with JD Davison for an alley-oop that James broke up. Walsh blocked Knecht later in the quarter and grabbed a second steal guarding Lewis, surpassing his stock total from all of Saturday.
Queta’s struggles didn’t show as visibly in the stat sheet, but he spent some of Saturday’s loss missing tip-ins or point blank looks while still managing a 20-point performance. On Monday, he drained three free throws, caught an alley-oop from Baylor Scheierman on the move, then landed another from Walsh after making a pair of stops inside on Colin Castleton that wowed a crowd that spilled into the upper deck, a rarity. A Davison three set up an early 10-point Celtics lead that Jahmi’us Ramsey maintained with a floater around four early turnovers. Davison and Ramsey combined for 21 points and eight assists in the back court on 7-for-15 shooting. Walsh finished 4-for-12 and 0-for-5 from three.
LA’s second unit worked back within two points behind five straight Knecht points before tying the game early i the second quarter. Killian Tillie shot aggressively off Boston’s bench, but started 1-for-6 while Moses Brown’s size challenged the Celtics’ front court. Lewis cut Boston’s lead to three midway through the second, and after leaving a possession where they secured four offensive rebounds empty-handed, the Celtics maintained their lead behind a Davison floater and Ramsey second chance three set up by Scheierman. The rookie first round pick struggled, finishing 1-for-7 individually, but he attacked the glass throughout, racing head over heels into the stands later in the second half after a loose ball.
Davison hit a corner three with three seconds left in the first half to establish a 50-34 lead into the third. Drew Peterson only scored three of those 50, making a spot start with Jaden Springer out for unspecified reasons. He could be out for the remainder of the schedule, which DJ MacLeay alluded to after the game, while sources said there’s nothing physical to be concerned about. Peterson hit his second three late in the third quarter, pouring in two more in the fourth to finish 4-for-8 from deep. He later noted he gained 13 pounds since joining the Celtics and signed another two-way contract earlier this summer.
Anton Watson reached seven points in the fourth for the second consecutive game with a mid-ranger after LA pulled within 10. James answered with a baseline jumper, his only scoring play in the game, that received a roaring response from the crowd that had waited all night. He shot 1-for-5 and missed all three attempts from deep, falling to 0-for-15 overall. Ron Harper Jr., who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics this week, went 2-for-6 with a three, five points and two assists. Three minutes later, Queta scored five points in less than 30 seconds to create the final separation from the Lakers and his own competition.
The Celtics take on the Hornets next on Wednesday at 5:30 EST.
