He’s been lurking in the shadows, waiting until the need arises for him to attack, and in Game 3 of the series between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker did exactly that — to impressive effect.
The UConn product stepped up in a massive way to help cover for fallen teammate Gordon Hayward, out for at least four weeks with a severe ankle sprain, scoring a team-high 24 points, an unusually high 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals on 8-of-16 shooting.
The Bronx native also played some of the best defense of his Celtics career, even taking a charge at one point in the game.
The former Husky has been content to let the team’s two young wings in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it came to offense, but with the loss of Hayward, it’s been clear the New Yorker will need to shoulder a heavier load.
Compared to what he held down while a Charlotte Hornet, it’s still a comparative feather — watch the four-time All-Star go to work in Game 3 in the video embedded above.
