Jordan Walsh is not known for showboating. However, he turned some heads in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 87-78 win over the Lakers on Thursday night with a windmill fast break dunk out of nowhere. The sequence came off a perfect full-court pass from Kenneth Lofton Jr. that led to the uncontested jam. Walsh also blew a kiss to Lakers fans in the crowd after the throwdown.
“I really wanted to beat the Lakers bad,” Walsh said after the win. “I wanted to make a statement real bad, so I decided to put some icing on the cake.”
Walsh ended up with a team-high 17 points for the Celtics in the victory as the third-year forward bounced back from a first-half ejection in Monday’s loss to the Heat. He came back with a chip on his shoulder and admitted he was fueled even more by the Lakers’ tactics against him in the matchup.
“Super motivated. I was even more motivated when we came out and they were hitting me and pushing me, all type of dirty stuff,” Walsh said. “I was just like, ’Stay cool, calm play, let’s win this game and be happy afterwards.’”
Walsh kept his composure this time around and played a well-rounded game in his best performance of Summer League this year. He was efficient from the field (6-of-11) and 3-point line (2-of-4), got to the free throw line a team-high six times and chipped in with six rebounds and a pair of steals. The 21-year-old has arguably been the most consistent player on the 15-man roster during Summer League and has bounced back in a big way from a nightmare outing last year in Las Vegas.
Walsh, a third-year forward, is entering a pivotal season in Boston as his contract is only partially guaranteed ($250,000) for next season. The team also picked another wing in the first round (Hugo Gonzalez) and brought a host of other wing competition to Summer League across the roster. Walsh has been far from dominant, but he’s certainly held his own against this bunch, showing the type of steadiness against the Lakers that Boston’s coaching staff has to be pleased with.
Walsh and the Celtics will try to finish Summer League on a high note with one final consolation game in Las Vegas this weekend.
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