Celtics’ Walker gets hot in 4th to help beat Raptors
Kemba Walker said he wants to earn the role of being a leader with the Celtics this season.
He didn’t mind following his teammates in host Boston’s win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Walker recovered from a second straight poor shooting start to score 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and help the Celtics rally to beat the defending NBA champions 112106.
Jaylen Brown had 25 points, three on a big shot in the closing minutes. Jayson Tatum finished with 25 points and nine rebounds.
Walker said support from his teammates helped him shake off a 0for5 start from the field just two days removed from his 4for18 performance in Boston’s seasonopening loss to Philadelphia.
“That’s what I needed,” Walker said. “The things that they said to me are the things that I needed to hear. They seen my face, kind of down at times. They just kept encouraging me.”
The Celtics shot only 38%, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. They had 109 attempts in the game.
Pascal Siakam scored 33 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Raptors, who went 18for36 from beond the 3point line. Kyle Lowry hit six 3pointers and scored 29 points. But the pair also had nine turnovers between them.
Siakam said teams are playing him differently through two games.
“There’s more help, obviously,” he said. “Last year, I felt like I was always out there on the side just working. Now there’s a little more intention.”
There were 12 ties and 19 lead changes, with neither team holding more than a sevenpoint lead.
Boston found its shot in the fourth quarter, outscoring Toronto 3624.
One of the plays that got the Celtics going came with 5:43 to play. Brown corralled a Marc Gasol miss, took two dribbles and threaded a halfcourt bounce pass between three Raptors defenders to a cutting Gordon Hayward for a layup to give the Celtics a 9998 lead.
“I have definitely been working on that side of my game, being a playmaker and making plays for others,” Brown said. “Hopefully there will be a lot more passes like that coming soon.”
Later, the Celtics were leading 107106 when Brown hit a 3pointer with 2:49 to play.
Nuggets 108, Suns 107: Jamal Murray scored seven of his 27 points in overtime and host Denver regrouped to beat Phoenix after Ricky Rubio tied the game late in regulation when he made three free throws after he was fouled on a halfcourt shot.
Murray hit two free throws with 19.4 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Nuggets the lead.
Devin Booker took a lastsecond shot for Phoenix, but it was blocked by Torrey Craig. It was Craig’s fourth block of the game.
Trail Blazers 122, Kings 112: Damian Lillard scored 35 points and had five assists as visiting Portland defeated Sacramento.
De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points to lead five Kings in double figures. Lakers 95, Jazz 86: LeBron James had 32 points, 23 in the second half, and 10 assists for host Los Angeles.
Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points to pace Utah. Nets 113, Knicks 109: Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and made a goahead 3pointer with 22 seconds left after New York had taken a late lead, and host Brooklyn held on.
The Nets controlled much of the game and then responded just in time after the Knicks had surged ahead with a big fourth quarter.
Irving, who scored 50 points in an overtime loss in his Brooklyn debut, scored five straight points down the stretch after New York took a threepoint lead.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 20 points.
Timberwolves 121, Hornets 99: KarlAnthony Towns had 37 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in visiting Minnesota’s victory over Charlotte.
Towns was 13for18 from the field, hitting four 3pointers.
Mavericks 123, Pelicans 116: Luka Doncic highlighted his tripledouble by scoring eight of his 25 points in the final five minutes in Dallas’ victory over host New Orleans.
Doncic also had 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points and five blocks for the Mavericks.
Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 25 points.
Wizards 97, Thunder 85: Thomas Bryant had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help visiting Washington beat Oklahoma City.
Rookie forward Rui Hachimura scored 19 points and Bradley Beal added 17 for the Wizards. Shai GilgeousAlexander scored 28 points for the Thunder.
Bulls 110, Grizzlies 102: Zach LaVine scored 37 points and rookie Coby White had 21 of his 25 points in the second half in Chicago’s comeback victory over host Memphis.
LaVine was 13for 23 from the field, including 4for8 from 3point range. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 23 points and 11 rebounds.