The Summer Celtics just scraped out an 83-80 overtime thriller against the Toronto Raptors in their first game of the 2026 Summer League tournament in Las Vegas! What a start to Game 1 at the Pavilion, and honestly, after that rough first half, you gotta give it up to the young guns for pulling it off.
Rookie Debuts and First Half Struggles
Listen, Friday night's 9 pm slot kicked off with some seriously ugly basketball. Both teams looked like they were still shaking off the travel, struggling big time from the field in the first half. The Raptors came out swinging, grabbing an early 7-0 lead, and the Celtics couldn't buy a bucket! Amari Williams eventually got Boston on the board with a single free throw, thanks to those new G-League rules, but they didn't hit a field goal until the five-minute mark when Hugo Gonzalez splashed home a corner triple off an assist from John Tonje. Meanwhile, rookie Dillon Mitchell showed off his insane athleticism with a massive chase-down block, practically ducking under the rim he got so high. But man, the biggest story early on had to be first-round pick Chris Cenac Jr. This dude, who fell to the Celtics at #26, didn't even start the game, which felt super weird. But when he finally checked in for Amari Williams, it was an instant impact! Cenac immediately threw down a big tomahawk dunk, injecting some much-needed life into the team and cutting Toronto's lead to 10-14. You just know Summer League coach Amile Jefferson is gonna get grilled by the media for not starting him. Boston shot a dreadful 23 percent from the field to start, racking up 11 turnovers in the first half, so any spark was welcome.Double Bigs and Courtside Superstars
As the first half wound down, the Celtics went "double big," bringing Amari Williams back in alongside Cenac Jr. And let me tell you, that move paid off. Cenac dunked it home again, sending the Boston bench absolutely wild with shouts of approval. Amari Williams also got in on the action with a brilliant help block on Brandon Angel. It was clear the Celtics were trying to counter Toronto's 7-foot-5 big man Jamarion Sharp, who was a menace in the paint for the Raps. The second quarter kicked off with Milos Uzan, Hank Morgan, Amari Williams, Hugo Gonzalez, and Chris Cenac Jr. on the floor. And who was courtside watching the young guys? None other than Jayson Tatum himself, along with Derrick White, Jordan Walsh, and Neemias Queta! Talk about some serious star power taking in the action. Dillon Mitchell finally got his first points on the board, skying for a backdoor alley-oop. Hugo Gonzalez, in his second year, was back to his usual self, throwing his body around, even getting absolutely bodied hard by Sharp midway through the quarter. Despite the flashes of brilliance, Boston was still battling turnover issues, racking up 11 in the first half alone. With the first Summer League game in the books, we saw some incredible athleticism from Dillon Mitchell and an immediate impact from first-round pick Chris Cenac Jr. What a performance for these young players in their pro debuts! We’ll be watching to see how they build on this momentum in the next few games.This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.