4 takeaways as Boston Celtics beat Lakers despite losing key center

The Celtics used a dominant defensive second quarter to propel a 87-78 comeback win over the Lakers Thursday night in Summer League action at Thomas and Mack Arena. Boston trailed by as many as seven points in the first half but held the Lakers to just nine points in the second quarter to erase that early deficit and take the lead at halftime.

The Celtics stayed in control for the entire second half, pushing their lead up to double digits for the entire fourth quarter on their way to the comfortable win. The victory improves Boston to 3-1 in Las Vegas with one game looming in the consolation round this weekend.

Jordan Walsh bounced back from his ejection on Monday night to finish with a team-high 17 points and five rebounds. Hugo Gonzalez chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists while Kenneth Lofton Jr. was big off the bench with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Bronny James had a team-high 18 points for the Lakers in the setback.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win over the Lakers Thursday night:

Celtics play without key center: The bright spot of the Celtics Summer League team has arguably been center Charles Bassey. The big man averaged 15.3 points and 11.0 rebounds on 70.4 percent shooting from the field in his first three games. However, the team revealed pregame that Bassey had left Las Vegas and the team due to other commitments this summer. Without him, the Celtics struggled with their defense on the interior, having to lean heavily on rookie center Amari Williams and undersized center Kenneth Lofton Jr. It’s unclear what’s next for Bassey as the big man remains an unrestricted free agent and the Celtics currently have a full roster.

Hugo Gonzalez has solid offensive bounce back: After a nightmare performance against the Heat on Monday, Gonzalez found a better offensive flow against the Lakers. He shook off a couple of early turnovers and delivered some promising offensive sequences including knocking down a pair of 3-point shots in rhythm and also some nice backdoor cuts that led to easy offense. It’s likely to be a roller coaster ride for the 19-year-old rookie all season long but the good has outweighed the bad for the first round pick in Las Vegas on the whole.

Baylor Scheierman is still struggling with his shot: The second-year wing entered the Thursday’s game shooting just 31 percent from the field in Summer League and did nothing to help his cause against the Lakers. The 24-year-old misfired on 12 of his first 14 shots of the night, including nine of 11 from 3-point range, prolonging a shooting slump in Summer League that dates back to his rookie year in Las Vegas. Scheierman has been effective in other aspects of his game (rebounding, assists), but the lack of shooting consistency is troubling for a guy the Celtics ideally would want pushing for rotation minutes next season.

Celtics will have an interesting call to make on Miles Norris roster spot: The two-way player continues to play a secondary role off the bench for the team in Las Vegas coming off the bench despite being a two-way player. He delivered his best outing of Summer League on Thursday night thus far, scoring 11 points off the bench in the victory. However, he’s struggled with his 3-point shot all week long despite perimeter shooting normally being a strength. If the Celtics find a more intriguing young prospect on their roster elsewhere in Vegas, Norris will likely be the odd man out since he’s done little to help his case this week.