BOSTON — Luke Kornet took just one shot in his 19 minutes of action on Sunday night against the Wizards. However, the side-stepped 3-point make from the sideline drew arguably the loudest cheer of the night from the TD Garden crowd in the midst of Boston’s 112-94 victory.
The ho-hum blowout of an inferior Wizards opponent was a welcome sign after two ugly losses by Boston this week. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown came out with great urgency, scoring the first 23 points of the game for Boston to build a double-digit lead. Malcolm Brogdon (23 points) was incredibly efficient off the bench and helped the hosts turn a competitive game in the third quarter into a rout, the exact type of performance the Celtics’ hoped they would be getting from him regularly after trading for him back in July.
The biggest development of the night though may have come at the backup big position. For the second game in a row, Luke Kornet was the backup center of choice for Joe Mazzulla after playing a season-high 26 minutes in Friday’s overtime loss to the Cavaliers. Grant Williams’ absence due to a suspension explained some of that high usage on Friday but Kornet got the call again on Sunday night against the Wizards and proved to be effective with Boston’s second unit.
Kornet played 19 minutes and finished with the best plus/minus off the bench (+13) while posting three points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks.
“I think he has the ability to move the ball,” Joe Mazzulla said postgame. “I think he has the ability to screen. I think he gives us a presence at the rim and helps us rebound, and I think he fits right in with our bench unit. So I’m comfortable with the minutes that he gave us.”
Noah Vonleh and Blake Griffin had been getting the first call off the bench by Mazzulla before Sunday in the center spot but it’s no surprise that Kornet looked like a stronger fit in that role over the last two games. League sources told MassLive that the Celtics were very high on the 7-foot-2 center throughout the summer to play a bigger role for this group but a sprained ankle in training camp derailed his ability to win a rotation spot out of the gate.
Kornet is healthy now two weeks into the regular season and his defensive impact seems noticeable better than Vonleh and Griffin thanks to his size and length. That impact helped to improve Boston’s defensive effort on Sunday night while keeping the team’s offensive flow rolling.
Kornet’s teammates have been a fan of his work on the defensive end as well, including his strategy of contesting jumpers from the paint when he can’t close out.
“We love it,” Marcus Smart said. “We love it. It’s Luke man, he’s different. You don’t see a lot of people doing that, and it’s different. I think it catches a lot of people off guard because they are open, and then they see a 7-footer just jump straight up out of nowhere, it’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ So it works, and as long as it’s working, we’re okay with it.”
For awhile, it looked like it would be a revolving door at the center position behind Al Horford until Rob Williams returned but Kornet tightened his grip on a spot on Sunday night. Boston’s defense has been at its best with more size on the floor and that’s something Kornet can provide despite his limitations.
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Luke Kornet solidifies spot in Celtics rotation in win over Wizards - MassLive.com
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