The Boston Celtics returned to the court in game 2 of Las Vegas summer league to take on the Charlotte Hornets. The Summer C’s played a great game with plenty of good performances spearheaded by 2nd round rookie Dillon Mitchell who led the team with 24 points, 6 steals and 8 rebounds. They now move to 2-0 in Las Vegas with a 87-75 victory.
CCharlotte came into the game with a win and a loss and a stacked squad with 3 picks from last year’s draft: Liam McNeely, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Sion James; their
2024 6th overall pick, Tidjane Salaun; and Christain Anderson. Boston started the same five as game one: Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, Dillon Mitchell, John Tonje, and Curtis Jones. The Hornets came out of the gates strong with a quick 2-9 lead as they looked extremely poised early.
Chris Cenac Jr. and Milos Uzan were first off the bench for Boston, and Cenac Jr. jumped straight into the fray, matching Ryan Kalkbrenner at the summit and blocking his dunk attempt. Hugo Gonzalez made up for his poor shooting in game one and connected from the corner with a three-pointer off a neat Cenac Jr. skip pass. Milos Uzan nailed a triple on his first shot attempt of the game, putting Boston back in it with scores tied at eight.
Hugo Gonzalez drove and dished to Dillon Mitchell for the easy layup as Derrick White looked on from the coaching bench wearing the pink Boston Summer League polo shirt. Rookie Dillon Mitchell followed that up with a steal and uncontested fast break dunk that rattled the Vegas rim, scores tied at 12. Charlotte went on a 7-0 run at the end of the first quarter before Tucker DeVries’s first triple of the game broke the C’s scoring drought, Hornets up 17-21 after one.
Milos Uzan hit a step-back three-pointer to start the second quarter, the Las Vegas native and former Houston Cougar impressing in his first few Summer League games. John Tonje continued to fill up the summer scoreboards, hitting a quick catch-and-shoot triple and then converting a layup. Boston was down by 1 point, 25-26.
Dillon Mitchell converted his second three-pointer attempt after airballing an earlier attempt. Amari Wilaims swished home a hook shot from the low block, the game remaining tight with the Hornets still up by one point, 30-31. Boston went scoreless for 3 minutes, missing 5 straight three-point attempts; Chris Cenac Jr. drove past Hannes Steinbach at the top of the key and threw down a one-handed jam for his first bucket to make it 32-38.
Milos Uzan drove and dished to John Tonje, who swished home his eighth point of the game. Tonje was feeling it hitting on another three-pointer with the shot clock expiring. Boston got back into the game behind the great play of Tonje, the 2025-26 second-round pick proving his worth with Brad Stevens in attendance. Boston is up by 2 points at the half in a far more polished team performance, 42-40.
Milos Uzan hit a layup to open the second half scoring for Boston. John Tonje stole the ball at mid court to take the ball to the rack with a dunk. It was all one way traffic for Boston as the Summer C’s went on a 14-2 run. Amari Williams was not having a great game for the Celtics, he had 4 turnovers in just 15 minute of action to start the game.
Dillon Mitchell was impressive on the defensive end for Boston, he was touted highly before the draft, but his long arms and positioning were a standout. Mitchell was doing it on both ends, as he was the team’s leading scorer through three quarters with 16 points as Boston opened up a ten point lead, 59-49.
Charlotte managed just nine points in 6 minutes of play in the third. They picked up their play late as Boston held on 63-56 after three quarters. Hugo Gonzalez laced home a rainbow triple to start the fourth quarter. Dillon Mitchell tried to dunk it over Kalkbrenner, but was fouled on the play. The broadcast crew noting Mitchell’s 38-inch vertical on the telecast.
Mitchell chased down a long rebound skipping it to DeVries in the corner who drained the triple, Boston up by 11 points, 71-59. Uzan hit his second three of the game with a crafty behind the back move and a step back jumper. The Summer Celtics in control, and on track to win a second straight game. Mitchell and Gonzalez made a ton of defensive plays on the night, the pair combining for 9 steals.
Boston hold on to win the game 87-75 and register two wins from 2 games. The Summer C’s back in action tomorrow against the Atlanta Hawks at 6pm.
