Celtics Summer League takeaways: Matt Ryan, Juhann Begarin steal show vs. Bucks

Summer League takeaways: Begarin's upside on full display for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The stakes were low, but the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks certainly put on a show Monday night at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

With an animated Grant Williams and several Milwaukee players (including Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis) in attendance, the Celtics edged the Bucks 111-109 on a Matt Ryan game-winning 3-pointer in their second NBA Summer League matchup.

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This game had it all, from highlight-reel dunks to late-game drama and chirping between NBA veterans on the sideline. Here are a few takeaways from Boston's eventful victory, which moves the team to 1-1 in Summer League play ahead of Tuesday night's game against the Golden State Warriors (9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston).

Matt Ryan plays hero

Ryan, a 25-year-old forward who played at three different colleges and was driving for Door Dash a year ago, made the most of his opportunity Monday night.

Ryan poured in 23 points in less than 25 minutes on 7 of 12 shooting while hitting 6 of 11 3-pointers, including this wild runner with under one second remaining that clinched Boston's dramatic victory:

Ryan went 4 of 8 from distance in the Celtics' first Summer League game against the Heat and leads the C's in scoring through two games. This was the type of shooting display we expected from Sam Hauser, who has hit just 2 of 13 3-pointers through two games.

Hauser recently landed a three-year deal, so Ryan is a long shot to make the active roster. But he's making a strong case for the team to give him another two-way contract in 2022-23.

Don't mess with the Juhann

Juhann Begarin has some hops, folks.

The 19-year-old France native flashed his impressive athleticism with a pair of huge dunks in the fourth quarter -- the first on a breakaway and the second a detonation on Milwaukee's Sandro Mamukelashvili.

Begarin is still very raw -- he hit 1 of 4 3-pointers, committed a team-high seven turnovers and had five fouls -- but his upside is obvious. He was able to get to the rim at will in the fourth quarter en route to a 13-point effort and also tallied three steals on the defensive end.

Here's hoping Begarin plays stateside this season (possibly in Maine?) so we can track his development more closely.

Leading big man?

There's been plenty of hype around Trevion Williams (aided by our own Chris Forsberg), but Mfiondu Kabengele is making quite a case for himself in the frontcourt.

The 6-foot-10 Florida State product posted a double-double Monday night with 15 points and 11 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass.

He also tallied four assists, blocked two shots and hit a 3-pointer in an impressive all-around performance.

Kabengele made plenty of mistakes as well, and at age 24, he has less time to iron those out. But as the Celtics continue their search for a backup big man, Kabengele should be on their radar as an internal option if he continues to play well in Vegas.

No love lost

An entertaining side show unfolded on the sideline Monday night, as Grant Williams jawed with Portis and Connaughton for much of the game.

Connaughton even jokingly accused Williams of bribing the officials after the refs stopped play in the fourth quarter to correct a scoring error.

The Celtics and Bucks are very familiar with each other after going seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Williams has bragging rights, though, as his 21 points in Game 7 of that series helped Boston advance to the East Finals.