English
Español
PHOENIX — Late in the third quarter of the Celtics 97-81 win over the Phoenix Suns, Payton Pritchard turned the ball over. Suns two-way player Jamaree Bouyea dribbled furiously down the court, while Baylor Scheiermman stayed in front of him, keeping his arms raised, but avoiding any contact.
Ron Harper Jr, amid his second-ever NBA start, trailed the play, but sprinted back and ultimately swatted Bouyea’s layup. Hugo Gonzalez secured the rebound and finished a layup on the other end. The Celtics led by 23.
The block was pretty cool.
But in the split second after Harper’s massive block came the play of the game. Before they ran back on offense, Harper and Scheierman enthusiastically high-fived, celebrating their collective big-time stop.
Harper got credit for the block on the box score, but Scheierman’s role in the play was just as important — he stayed vertical, avoided a foul, and ultimately helped force Bouyea into a difficult look.
“We talk about that a lot,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “Those plays are super important, because a lot of times that guy that goes up for the block may foul, and then you don’t get a chance to contest it. And so we do focus on a lot, it’s not just that guy that gets the block — it’s just as important to protect the rim.”
A Ron Harper Jr — Baylor Scheierman defensive sequence perfectly captures the magic of this Celtics season
Ron Harper Jr. and Baylor Scheierman first met when they played on the Celtics’ Summer League team in 2024. Scheierman had just been drafted days prior, while Harper was coming off a serious shoulder injury that abruptly ended his season.
Both players spent most of the 2024-2025 season in the G League; Harper began his year with the Maine Celtics and finished it with the Motor City Cruise after getting a two-way contract with the Detroit Pistons, while Scheierman spent it in Maine.
Now, both players are impacting winning with the parents club, and both got the start in Tuesday’s matchup against the Suns. (Scheierman has started the last five games for the Celtics, while Harper started in place of Jaylen Brown, who missed the game with a knee contusion).
Harper, who remains on a two-way contract, added 8 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block in 30 minutes.
Afterwards, Sam Hauser — who also started en route to a 16-point night — praised his performances.
“Nothing changes when he gets out there,” Hauser said of Harper. “There’s no skipping of the beats, and he’s a great player. He’s a great defender, and he helps us in a lot of different ways. And tonight he was great.”
Scheierman, meanwhile, tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in 32 minutes — and also earned Hauser’s praise.
“He can kind of can do a little bit of everything, and he’s shown it,” Hauser said. “And he, again, is another guy who just kind of got thrust into the lineup — and he’s made the most of it. At times, it’s really hard to take him off the floor, for obvious reasons, because he’s a really well-rounded player, and he’s been defending his butt off, and it’s been fun to watch.”
Harper will likely go back to the bench when Jaylen Brown returns to the lineup in the coming days, and Scheierman’s minutes will likely diminish when (or if) Jayson Tatum makes his season debut.
But on Tuesday night, for a brief moment, those two 25-year-old, former G League standouts were invincible.
And in the middle of live action, they high-fived one another, taking a moment to recognize just how great a defensive possession it was. It’s that kind of synergy that’s allowed the Celtics to have the NBA’s best defense over the past month, and the 8th-best defensive rating in the league this season.
That Harper-Scheierman sequence stood out to Derrick White, too.
“It’s huge,” said White. “Baylor does a good job of occupying, kind of slowing him down a little bit, and Ron sprints back and makes a play. That’s the kind of thing we talk about all the time — it’s a team effort, every time down the court. Even in transition, you try to get nothing easy. Big time for both of them to sprint back and make that big play, and it was a big momentum swing for us.”
The duo’s reaction perfectly captured what kind of season it’s been.