On this day: Greg Minor, Maurice King debut for Boston
On this day in Boston Celtics history, small forward Greg Minor made his debut for the team, the first game of a five-season career with the franchise. A product of the University of Louisville where he averaged 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and make two trips to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, Minor would end up being drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers 25th overall in the 1994 NBA draft without ever actually playing for them.
The Georgia native would be traded the day after the draft to the Indiana Pacers with Mark Jackson for Eric Piatkowski, Pooh Richardson, and Malik Sealy, then waived by the Pacers.
He was then picked up by the Celtics as a free agent a few days later.
(TONY RANZE/AFP via Getty Images)
Minor suited up for Boston for the first time in a 102-82 loss to the Houston Rockets, getting four minutes of floor time with no turnovers or fouls.
He would score 2 points on 1-of-2 shooting and block a single shot for good measure for a respectable if unremarkable debut.
(AP Photo)
It is also the date of Boston floor general Maurice King debuting for the Celtics in a 151-118 demolition of the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings) at the old Boston Garden in 1959.
The Kansas product played 19 minutes and scored an impressive 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.
It is also the anniversary of a 115-87 blowout of the New York Knicks in 2016.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Big nights from point guard Isaiah Thomas (29 points), big man Kelly Olynyk (19 points, 7 rebounds) and guard Avery Bradley (15 points and 10 boards) as well as three players scoring in double figures off the bench contributed to the win.
“We played hard. And when you play hard you give yourself a chance,” Thomas said via the A.P. “We’ve got to figure out how to continue to do this and then get our swag back a little bit.”
It is also the anniversary of Boston beating the Dallas Mavericks 116-106 in 2019. 29 points, 5 rebounds, and as many assists from point guard Kemba Walker led the Celtics, and wing Jaylen Brown added 25 points and 11 boards, with guard Marcus Smart chipping in 17 points and 6 assists.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
“I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to make the right plays,” Walker said via the AP.
“My shot felt good the whole night. I was just missing them. Then, in the fourth quarter, just naturally, the competitive nature just comes out and I try to do what I can do to put the ball in the basket.”
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