Boston Celtics: Kemba Walker receiving praise from other NBA stars

After a vintage “cardiac” performance, Boston Celtics All-Star Kemba Walker gets recognition from his peers.

With the run the Boston Celtics are currently on during these 2020 playoffs, it’s been a hard task for fans to zero in on just one aspect and deem it as a “main catalyst” for the team’s success. That said, with each specific outing comes stellar performances by one or more of Beantown’s talented ballers.

Game-two of their Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors, indeed, saw quite a few big performances — Marcus Smart’s 3-point barrage in the fourth, Jayson Tatum’s offensive excellence, etc. —, however, none got the recognition that Kemba Walker’s crunch-time play received.

After ending the first half scoring just two points on 0-8 shooting from the field — points came from the free-throw line —, the All-Star point guard wound up kicking things up a notch in the second half, finishing the night with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

For a player like Walker, a slow start is not typically followed up by a wonky finish. As the great ones typically do, they find ways to shake off their struggles and find ways to win.

This statement certainly rang true for the nine-year veteran’s late-game heroics.

After going on an offensive surge to reclaim the lead in the final minutes, the Celtics found themselves up by only one (100-99) with less than a minute to play. In possession of the ball at the top of the key, Walker found himself guarded by Serge Ibaka.

Putting on the burners, the point guard jolts to the right on a drive, only to cross things back to his left hand, making Ibaka slide, and proceeds to hit the vintage step-back that made him a household name dating back to the Big East championship game of 2011.

With his huge bucket, the game was sealed and the Boston Celtics held on for a 102-99 victory.

With this shot, he not only received praise from Cs fans across the globe but, also, by some of his NBA peers such as Portland Trailblazers star CJ McCollum.

Game recognizes game and, luckily for Celtics fans, Walker called game in game-two.