What a difference one game makes.
After dropping just 12 points in his Celtics debut Wednesday night against the Philadelphia 76ers, Kemba Walker really brought the heat Friday in Boston’s home opener.
Walker, who briefly addressed the TD Garden crowd before tip-off, dropped 22 points — 11 coming in the fourth quarter — in the Celtics’ 112-106 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The guard likely wasn’t feeling the most confident after Wednesday’s loss. But what changed in just two days? After the game, Brad Stevens revealed what he told the guard ahead of Friday night’s contest in order to keep his confidence up.
“Just be Kemba Walker,” the head coach said on NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics postgame coverage.
Well, the message seemed to translate given his performance Friday night.
As for Walker, his first game as a member of the Celtics on home court was “everything I imagined,” adding some high praise for his teammates, coach and fans in attendance.
“It was everything I imagined,” Walker told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin. “These fans are incredible. So much energy in the building. First half I felt the energy, I was a little bit hyped and the adrenaline was pumping I just needed to calm down. But I can’t say enough about my teammates, the coaching staff. Those guys, they just kept me up. They kept my confidence up, kept telling me to be myself, keep shooting the ball. I really appreciate those guys, for sure.”
And as much as his teammates hyped him up, it sure seemed Walker was doing the same for those around him, telling The Athletic’s Jay King the C’s “make the right plays.”
Walker was one of five Celtics to amass double-digit points in the win against the reigning NBA champions, joining Jaylen Brown (25), Jayson Tatum (25), Gordon Hayward (15) and Marcus Smart (10).
Here are some other notes from Friday’s Celtics-Raptors game:
— Brown had a monster night, dropping 25 points. The total was tied for the team-high with Tatum. The duo made some highlight-reel plays, including hammering home a behind-the-back pass from Tatum. But which one was his favorite?
Check it out:
— Boston shot 38.5 percent from the paint, while making 34.2 percent of its attempts from deep.
— The new-look Celtics have played just two games together this season, but Smart said postgame that it seems much longer than that.
“It feels like we’ve been playing together for a really long time,” he told MassLive’s Tom Westerholm.
— Daniel Theis injured his ankle in the second quarter while he was backpedaling on defense. The center immediately hobbled off the court and was diagnosed with an ankle sprain. Theis did return in the third.
He told reporters after the game that his ankle is “sore” and will “see how he feels (Saturday),” per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
— The Celtics look to make it two straight Saturday night against the New York Knicks.
