Skip to main content

Boston Celtics: Walker stars as Team USA gets close win over Turkey, 93-92

Two Boston Celtics contributed heavily to a very close 93-91 victory over Turkey in World Cup competition. The Turkish crew proved very tough for the Americans to handle, but Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum came through for Team Shamrock and Team USA.

The first half ended with Team USA up by five points with a score of 47-42. Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker were the big guns for the USA. Tatum racked up five points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal. Kemba scored five points, grabbed two boards and passed off for three assists. Ersan Ilyasova was high man for Turkey with 15 points in the half, to go with four rebounds.

At the 0:04 mark of the third quarter, Walker went into the game for Marcus Smart and hit a last-second prayer of a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. The score at the end of the third period was 65-61 in favor of Team USA. Myles Turner's play in this game through three quarters was sensational, pouring in 11 points and taking down eight rebounds.



Kemba wasn't just racking up points, rebounds and assists in this one. His dogged defense was also on display, as seen in the video below:



Turkey tied the score at the 6:01 mark of the fourth quarter. Ilyasova continued to plague Team USA putting in a layup and then a tip-in in the final minute of the fourth period. The period ended in an 81-81 tie as Tatum made 2-of-3 critical free thows.





The 5-minute OT period was a nail-biter. A defensive rebound by Jayson (Team-high 11 boards for the game) in the closing seconds and two free throws by Kris Middleton sealed the victory. Marcus Smart (5 points, one assist) and Jaylen Brown (one point, one rebound) were both quiet for Team USA. Turkey's Ersan Ilyasova was a major factor in this contest being so close, ending with 23 points and 14 rebounds.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center





Comments

  1. Here's an edited version of my CL comment:

    I set my alarm for just before 5:30 AM Pacific Time and finally watched one of these. Pop seemed a little pissed off at Brown for good reason. In the first half, on defense, instead of putting his arms straight up, he touched the shooter's arm after a shot in the post that didn't go in. Pop yelled--you could read his lips--and put his own arms straight up to illustrate. Then Brown missed the front end of two free throws by simply not focusing, and then he missed another, this time one of those International Rules 1-shot fouls where the shooting team keeps the ball after the shot.

    Tatum, even though he only shot 3 for 11, was making good basketball decisions out there. His 11 rebounds was particularly impressive, as those Turkish players can jump and some are big--our 7'0" 2008 draft pick, Semih Erden, was in there banging, as were some others.

    Turkey is a damn good team, well coached. As we saw in Philly when he hit that game-tying shot against us in the playoffs in 2018 (the infamous 'confetti' loss for Philly), Ilyasova is clutch, all class. If Osman isn't ice-cold early or if the Turkish players make a couple of those missed late free throws, they would have won, and they deserved to.

    They played unselfish team ball (except for the American-born Wilbekin who helped them lose with a late, hero-ball offensive foul), while except for Kemba and Tatum, who were unselfish, we had too many individuals trying to be heroes--including Donovan Mitchell, who had a negative plus-minus. Miles Turner's late turnover that almost cost us the game was also 'hero ball' to me, anyway, as good as he looked early.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great feedback. I had to go with USAB.com's play-by-play and Twitter updates. Didn't get to see it directly. Losing to Australia in exhibition and coming close to losing to Turkey is not a good sign. Will definitely add some of your input in today's article. You offer some of the best analysis out there. Ever think of writing at least an occasional article? Thanks again. What do you think should be done with Brown - by both Pop and Brad?

      Delete
    2. I've always liked Brown, but his head isn't always in the game properly. Youth, or having an intelligent but wandering mind? I don't know. Maybe working a bit with Pop, who seems to be more of a screamer than Brad, will help Jaylen. I hope so. He also drove hard early, and the drives looked good, but the his shot didn't quite fall. This is a contract year for him.

      As for watching the game, I did exactly what Jay King says he did on a recent Locked On Celtics. I signed up for ESPN Insider more than a year or two ago, paid some minimum once, never (at least as far as I am aware of) renewed, and yet they keep giving me both ESPN Plus and ESPN Insider and mailing me their magazine.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on four occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts 2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 3.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the stage is often set for true horror. Such was the case with triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante . As a 16-year old , he quickly transitioned from: Minor thefts and breaking into homes To: Taunting and threatening a father and his two daughters as an unseen

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion

Nik Stauskas adds "shooting with size" voiced by Brad Stevens

 As a 6'6" shooting guard, 28-year-old Nik Stauskas adds that shooting with size sorely needed by the Boston Celtics. Drafted 8th-overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2014, Stauskas has bounced around to various teams since then. Nik Stauskas' deal with the Boston Celtics includes non-guaranteed salary for the second season in 2022-23, a source tells @celticsblog . — Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 4, 2022 Nik has never averaged more than 9.5 points per game in the NBA, but Boston is most likely counting on his production for Grand Rapids in the G League as the incentive to sign him. In 17 games thus far, he has averaged 24.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.8 APG - while shooting 50% on field goals and 45% on treys. Nik Stauskas is signing a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Stauskas had an historic week, scoring 100 points on 57 and 43 point performances in back-to-back games for Grand Rapids. — Adrian Wo