SEALED; Boston Celtics have just completed another major big monster Deal.
The NBA G-League’s Dalano Banton and Jordan Walsh have been called up by the Boston Celtics.
The Boston Celtics have announced that they have called up two players from their affiliated team, the Maine Celtics, from the NBA G-League.
They are 24-year-old forward Dalano Banton, who in two games with the G-League militant franchise averaged 29.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Jordan Walsh, a guard from the Maine Celtics who made 14 appearances and averaged 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game, was also called up in addition to Banton.
Further More
The Celtics defeated Grand Rapids 90-83 thanks to a big defensive effort that included forcing 20 turnovers and holding the Gold to 38.6% shooting. Dalano Banton scored a career-high 42 points in the game.
With 31 points and six rebounds while on assignment from Boston, Dalano Banton led Maine (9-7) in scoring. Kylor Kelley contributed 12 points and 9 rebounds, while Jordan Walsh finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds. JD Davison finished with eight assists and ten points.
For Grand Rapids (7-7), Jalen Pickett scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Au’Diese Toney finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Hunter Tyson contributed 21 points and 6 rebounds. Jamorko Pickett racked up eight rebounds in addition to 11 points.
After the Celtics failed to score in the first almost two minutes of the game, Pickett broke the ice with a free throw line pull-up. Walsh also grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds. Maine took an early lead thanks to threes from Banton and Peterson, but the Gold responded with an 8-0 run that put them ahead 10-6 when Pickett began to play back-to-the-basket. Shortly after, the Celtics pulled even again, tying the game at 14. In the first quarter, neither team let the other offense establish any sort of rhythm thanks to excellent defense. The only turnover committed by Maine in the first quarter occurred on a shot clock infraction that occurred right before the buzzer, but the Gold led 16–14 at the half thanks to a 22.7% shooting percentage.
The second quarter saw a quick spike in scoring as the Celtics scored 12 points in less than three quarters of an hour, leading 30–21 at the first quarter’s break. When Kelley rolled into the paint against the smaller Gold lineup, the defense paid close attention to him, making his presence known inside. During the first half, Maine’s defense produced five steals, three blocks, and a ton of deflections. On defense, Kelley was just as formidable at the rim, defending the paint while Banton, Davison, and Steward guarded Pickett at the attack point. The Celtics outscored the Gold 31–17 during the quarter, using a scorching second quarter performance of 55.6% from the field to counteract an extremely cold first. Maine had a 45-33 lead at the half.
Within the first two minutes of the third quarter, the Gold scored nine points straight out of the locker room, cutting the lead to six points. The Celtics took back control of the game quickly, mainly using Banton to run the offense as he made a triple to put up 18 points. After nearly two minutes without a basket, Richardson put an end to the drought with a simple layup, sending Maine into a timeout with a 63-51 lead. As the quarter came to an end, Grand Rapids went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to four points, but Snell’s corner three off a flurry of offensive rebound attempts gave the Celtics a 68-61 lead going into the last quarter.
It was down to one possession once more after the Gold scored another run, this time 7-2. Grand Rapids opened the score at 71-70 thanks to a three-pointer from Pickett. This extended the lead to 26-7, which dated back to the end of the third quarter. Walsh dropped the hammer in transition to tie the game at 77, but Pickett’s triple a few minutes later gave the Gold the lead back. After Walsh tied the score with a three of his own, Banton made two free throws just inside the two-minute mark to put Maine ahead, 82-80. Banton iced it down the stretch with a number of clutch plays and free throws, capped off by a driving and-1 with one minute and change left. It was all free throws from there, with Davison snatching a steal and putting it down on the other end, putting Maine up seven points in less than a minute. In the end, Maine prevailed for the third time in a row, but the Gold’s desperate attempts to draw closer proved fruitless.
On Sunday, February 4, the Celtics will make a brief trip to central Florida to play the Osceola Magic. On February 8 and 10, they will return home to play two games against the Motor City Cruise.
