Hugo Gonzalez put up 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and rookie Chris Cenac Jr. chipped in 10 and 12 off the bench to lead the Boston Celtics to an 82-76 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Wednesday's NBA summer league action at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
The Celtics set a dominant tone early, holding the Kings to four points in the first quarter, a summer league record for fewest points in a quarter. Gonzalez also registered five assists, and Cenac, the 27th pick in the first round, blocked two shots. John Tonje contributed 18 points for Boston, and Milos Uzan scored 13.
For the Kings, first-round pick Alex Karaban led the scoring effort with 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Jonathan Mogbo finished with nine points and 11 boards, while second-round pick Emanuel Sharp scored 12 points.
Boston built a lead as large as 16 points, but Sacramento mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer by Karaban with 53 seconds remaining cut the Celtics' lead to 77-75. However, Uzan answered with a driving layup on the ensuing possession to make it a two-possession game.
The Kings' comeback hopes were dashed with 21 seconds left when they were assessed a technical foul for calling an excess timeout. Tonje converted the free throw, and the Celtics maintained possession, sealing the victory from the foul line.
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