Jordan Walsh ejected, Hugo Gonzalez scuffles in Celtics’ Summer League loss to Heat

Jordan Walsh s best performance of the summer was over before halftime The third-year Celtics forward was ejected from Monday night s - Summer League loss to the Miami Heat in Las Vegas after picking up two technical fouls in quick succession The first came after Walsh drew a foul in transition on a tough make against Erik Stevenson Walsh bumped Stevenson while celebrating the and-one bucket and the Miami guard shoved him in response resulting in technicals for both players Seven seconds later Walsh made contact with Pelle Larsson near halfcourt then pushed the Heat wing into the front row of seats When Larsson turned to accost him Walsh shoved him again then screamed as the two were separated The reckless play and ensuing scrum resulted in another set of double technical fouls on Walsh and Larsson Since the tech was Walsh s second he was booted from the battle with remaining in the first half Related Articles Should Celtics sign Damian Lillard Cases for against pursuing All-Star guard Four takeaways from Celtics Summer League win over Knicks Celtics notebook Thoughts on Boston s talent drain Damian Lillard rumors Boston Celtics announce four-game preseason schedule Brad Stevens opens up about Al Horford s accomplishable return Celtics plans Before his early exit Walsh scored points on efficient -of- shooting and added three rebounds and one steal in minutes of action It was shaping up to be an encouraging bounce-back performance by the second-round draft pick who was whistled for seven personal fouls and went -for- from the field in Sunday s win over the New York Knicks Walsh opened Summer League with a strong -point outing on -of- shooting last Friday in a success over the Memphis Grizzlies He s the longest-tenured Celtic on the group s summer squad and is looking to prove he deserves a rotation role in Year after logging minutes per match across appearances last season In his two-year NBA career Walsh has averaged points and rebounds per championship and per minutes while shooting from the field and from -point range He has yet to crack head coach Joe Mazzulla s core rotation but there will be opportunities for Celtics reserves to earn additional playing time after the squad lost nearly half of its regulars this offseason including rehabbing superstar Jayson Tatum Achilles out indefinitely It ll be up to players like Walsh and fellow Summer Leaguer Baylor Scheierman to seize those chances Boston wants Walsh who at still is one of the gang s youngest players to be aggressive at both ends of the floor but his lack of composure Monday night likely won t sit well with the Celtics shot-callers a multitude of of whom had a literal front-row seat to his ejection The group of spectators he pushed Larsson into included Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens association president Rich Gotham vice president of basketball ops Mike Zarren and incoming majority owner Bill Chisholm With Walsh in the locker room the Celtics entered the second half trailing - then clawed their way back in the third quarter Scheierman fueled that rally with points and three assists in the frame including a pair of -pointers and Hugo Gonzalez located his footing after a rough first half for the first-round draft pick Gonzalez who sat out Sunday s challenge for rest purposes struggled against Miami s speed and pressure early racking up four turnovers and five fouls before halftime He also missed his first seven shots before nailing a three midway through the third that cut Miami s lead to five The -year-old hit another triple off a Scheierman feed to put Boston ahead early in the fourth Later he scored on a putback after a tough offensive rebound and drew a charge to force a Miami turnover Seven straight points by Kenny Lofton Jr by back-to-back makes by Kendall Brown and a driving hook shot by Miles Norris gave the Summer C s a - lead with less than two minutes remaining but they couldn t hold it Gonzalez s ball-security issues resurfaced during an ensuing - Miami run as his errant pass with to play led to an and-one finish at the other end Scheierman who paced Boston with points nine assists and five steals hit a step-back three to make it a one-point meeting but Stevenson drilled one from the corner on the next possession to ice the meeting for Miami Seven players scored in double figures for the Celtics including Lofton Brown Norris and Gonzalez who s experiencing various expected growing pains as he makes the leap to the NBA from Spanish club Real Madrid He finished with points on -of- shooting -for- from three seven rebounds three offensive three assists seven fouls and six turnovers and was a game-worst minus- in minutes The loss was a step back for center Charles Bassey points nine rebounds who was a minus- in minutes The Celtics outscored the Grizzlies and Knicks by points with Bassey on the court sparking predictions that the -year-old former San Antonio Spur could contend for a roster spot in Boston s lackluster frontcourt Lofton a -foot- -pound big man who starred for the Shanghai Sharks in the Chinese Basketball Association last season was a plus- finishing with points on -of- shooting to go along with four rebounds three assists and one steal in minutes Lofton hasn t been able to stick in the NBA since debuting in but he s a skilled scorer with a versatile offensive meeting for his size The Celtics have at least two games remaining on their Summer League schedule They ll face the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday at p m ET