BOSTON — For some, hearing the roar of TD Garden is just another Tuesday night. It doesn’t get old, but it’s a common occurrence. Jayson Tatum’s MVP chants. Jaylen Brown after a loud dunk. Kristaps Porzingis playing to the crowd after a game-altering swat. But it’s not something Baylor Scheierman gets to enjoy often.
On Tuesday night, the Celtics needed an extra punch. Tatum and Brown were sidelined, Derrick White was struggling to lead the offense, and Boston was missing a bunch of their open threes. Enter Scheierman—a rookie who has earned very few opportunities this season. By the second half, he was dominating the spotlight.
First, it was a catch-and-shoot three. Then, a steal to give the Celtics some energy. Once the third quarter rolled around, Scheierman’s three-point shot was lifting Boston’s offense out of an ugly void, and it was all highlighted by a buzzer-beater to end the period.
Well, technically, two buzzer-beaters.
Baylor Scheierman vs. Nets was about more than just threes
As the seconds ticked off the clock in the third, Payton Pritchard dribbled the ball up the floor. Two Brooklyn Nets defenders swarmed him, and he kicked it to Scheierman, who was running up to the wing.
Scheierman launched a three in the air, but as he was shooting, the ref called a foul—the Nets had intentionally fouled Pritchard, as they had one to give. As the referee rapidly flapped his hands in the air to wave the shot off, it banked off the glass and in. TD Garden lit up. But the shot didn’t count.
Boston put Scheierman as the inbounder on the next possession, and with 1.7 seconds left, he kicked it to the corner. Or at least, he tried to.
“I was actually trying to throw it to D-White in the corner, and KP jumped in front of it,” Scheierman said. “And he threw it back to me, and I was surprised he threw it back to me.”
Rather than finding White in the corner for a three, Porzingis stepped in front of the ball and immediately passed it right back to Scheierman. The rookie pulled up from well beyond the arc for his second buzzer-beater attempt in the last two seconds. Swish.
“I tried to get my feet in bounds as quick as possible and just let it fly,” he said. “At the end of the day, that's kind of all there was to it.”
Scheierman’s three-point barrage took form in the fourth. He nailed four fourth-quarter triples, finishing the night 6-of-7 from deep, including a wild heat-check in transition that sent TD Garden into a frenzy.
He even threw up Tatum’s signature “three-point kiss” celebration to the crowd (though the two Celtics may have had some discussions about that endeavor).
“We talked a little bit about it in the locker room, and I might have to start working on different celebrations,” Scheierman said with a smile.
Alongside his buzzer-beater, Scheierman had the crowd in the palm of his hand on Tuesday night, and they were happy to oblige.
“It's pretty special,” Scheierman said of playing in that environment. “When I hit that buzzer beater and the crowd was going crazy, that was probably [a] top three environment I've ever been a part of, and obviously I played in a lot of big games. It's just special, and that's obviously what makes Boston so elite and the best sports town in the country, [the] best city in the country.”
The rookie finished with a career-high 20 points—the most posted by a Celtics freshman since Payton Pritchard’s 28-point night in April of 2021.
His scoring gave the Celtics a much-needed boost in a game when they only managed to produce 44 first-half points. As the starting lineup combined to shoot 7-of-32 from beyond the arc, Scheierman’s shooting gave Boston its most consistent form of offense outside of Porzingis post-ups.
Yet the scoring was nowhere near the first thing Joe Mazzulla cared about. And though it's what Celtics fans will gravitate toward first, the rest of Scheierman's night was far more important.
“The thing I really like about him is his toughness,” Mazzulla said. “He's got a high level of toughness. He's got a chip on his shoulder. And kind of an F.U. mentality to where he's just gonna make it work. And you saw that on some of his boxouts, some of his offensive rebounds.
“So again, the threes were great, but I like the mindset and the toughness that he brought on both ends of the floor.”
Outside of his huge night in the scoring column, Scheierman made sure to stay active. He sprinted into passing lanes, attempted to draw charges, and sprawled out on the ground to chase loose balls. Even when he made a layup on one end, he was still the first Celtics player back on defense.
That intensity bleeds into the way he carries himself on the floor.
“I think you kind of have to have that mentality to make it in this league with a lot of talented players,” Scheierman said. “And every time I step out on that court, I'm trying to go 110% and play as hard as I can, regardless of the score or who we're playing. Just try to put my best foot forward every single time.”
Despite being 24 years old, Scheierman is still a rookie. He still has a lot of room to go before the days of regular minutes and free-reign opportunities come his way. Even on Tuesday night, with a fire stretching from his arm to the ball, he was subbed out with four minutes to go in the game. “He’s a rookie, and Derrick’s our starting point guard,” Mazzulla said of the sub.
As Scheierman continues to learn and grow, the Celtics will be there behind him. From Mazzulla to assistant coach Craig Luschenat, who works closely with the rookie, they are heavily invested in his future.
And Tuesday may only be the beginning.
“I think that just comes with time,” Mazzulla said of Scheierman’s growth. “It just comes with understanding the system, understanding, really, different lineups that you play with. But I think he's just a tough kid that continues to work. I think it's the culture.
“Our player development staff does a great job. Craig and the guys do a great job just creating an environment of learning, an environment of work ethic, regardless of what's going on, and keeping those guys ready. So, Baylor's next on the list, along with the other guys, and he delivered tonight. It's a credit to him and a credit to the staff.”
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