Celtics kick off Summer League slate with 83-80 OT win over Raptors
· Yahoo Sports
The Boston Celtics couldn't find the bottom of the net for the majority of their 2026 Las Vegas Summer League debut against the Toronto Raptors. However, when the Summer Celtics needed a 3-pointer the most, rookie Chris Cenac Jr. delivered in the clutch on Friday night.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Celtics trailed the Raptors 77-74 and were down to their last chance in what had been a rough offensive game. Those shooting struggles continued to be a major factor, as the Celtics missed two shots on their final possession — yet they corralled the ball after both failed attempts. That led to the rock finding its way to Cenac Jr. in the corner, where he drained a 3-pointer to tie the contest with a mere 0.7 seconds left on the clock.
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The Atlantic Division showdown then headed to overtime, which is only 2 minutes long in Summer League play. During that short span, the Celtics outscored the Raptors 6-3, with a transition dunk from Celtics guard John Tonje seemingly clinching the victory. But, the Raptors managed to put up four potential game-tying attempts from deep within the final 13 seconds of the game. Every shot was off the mark, though.
Cenac Jr. — who became a Celtic just a few weeks ago when he was selected with the No. 27 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — finished the win with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 blocks off the bench. The rest of Boston's production largely came from the three guys who played for the Celtics last regular season: guard Hugo Gonzalez, center Amari Williams, and Tonje.
Gonzalez tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists in a game-high 37 minutes of play. Williams scored a game-high 23 points on roughly 78 percent shooting from the field and also led the C's with 13 rebounds. Tonje notched 20 points in 26 minutes and was responsible for most of the Celtics' big shots (aside from Cenac Jr.'s game-tying 3-pointer). He cashed 5 triples on 9 attempts while the rest of the C's made just 4 triples on 25 tries.
Although Boston shot 30 percent from the field on Friday night, it escaped with a 1-0 record in Summer League action. The C's will look to improve to 2-0 on Sunday afternoon when they face the Atlanta Hawks.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics kick off Summer League slate with 83-80 OT win over Raptors