Celtics trio hits career highs
Boston had three different players post career‑high scoring nights over the weekend — Baylor Scheierman scored 30 points, while Luka Garza and Ron Harper Jr. each scored 27. (x.com) Those individual highs were grouped in social recaps as evidence of depth production in recent Celtics lineups. (x.com)
Boston closed its regular season with three separate career-high scoring nights from deep reserves in a 113-108 win over Orlando on Sunday. (nba.com) Baylor Scheierman scored 30 points, Ron Harper Jr. added 27 on his 26th birthday, and Luka Garza had 27 points with 12 rebounds. Garza also hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 31.6 seconds left at TD Garden. (nba.com) Boston did it with a stripped-down lineup. The Celtics had only eight available players, and their starters included Harper, Garza, Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Max Shulga. (sports.yahoo.com) The game landed on the final day of the regular season, after Boston had already locked up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The National Basketball Association said the SoFi Play-In Tournament begins April 14 and the playoffs open April 18. (nba.com) Orlando had more at stake and lost anyway. The defeat dropped the Magic into a road play-in game, while Boston finished 56-26 and entered the postseason on a win despite resting most of its regular rotation. (foxsports.com) The scoring outburst came from players who have spent most of the season outside Boston’s headline group. Scheierman is on the Celtics’ roster as a first-year guard, Harper is listed as a guard-forward, and Garza is listed as a center. (espn.com) Boston’s own recap said four Celtics set career highs in scoring, not three. Along with Scheierman, Harper and Garza, John Tonje scored a career-best 14 points. (nba.com) The result fit the way Boston treated the afternoon: less about standings, more about minutes for the back end of the roster. Against an Orlando team still chasing position, those minutes turned into 84 points from Scheierman, Harper and Garza alone. (sports.yahoo.com) By Sunday night, the Celtics had turned a rest-day lineup into a closing snapshot of their bench. Three career highs — and a fourth if Tonje is counted — were the last numbers on Boston’s regular-season ledger. (nba.com)
