Celtics
Kornet isn’t a flashy player, but he got a lot of attention for this highlight play.
Things were just clicking for the Celtics on Friday night.
In the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets, Derrick White spotted Luke Kornet cutting to the rim, and tossed a perfect lob that Kornet slammed down for a smooth alley-oop bucket.
His teammates couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Kornet made another highlight reel play in the fourth quarter when he dished a no-look dime to Payton Pritchard under the basket for an easy layup. His effective night drew praise from Richard Jefferson and the ESPN broadcast team.
“He’s a valuable guy, and he’s showing it tonight,” Jefferson said on the ESPN broadcast.
Kornet is a depth big backing up Boston’s two-headed monster of Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. With Horford out of the lineup on Friday, Kornet became the second center option for the Celtics.
Kornet is averaging 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game this season, but finished with seven points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes on Friday.
Though Kornet hasn’t averaged more than 4.4 points in a Celtics uniform, he’s making the right plays — and even exciting ones at times — this season. And, although teams seem to enjoy driving on Kornet whenever they feel they have a favorable matchup, the Boston big is quietly averaging 0.5 steals per game in just 9.7 minutes per game. That is nearly even with Porzingis (0.6) and Horford (0.7), who have a significant minutes advantage.
Friday provided a rare flashy moment for Kornet, but flash or not, he’s been a steady hand deep in Boston’s rotation.
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