The Boston Celtics bounced back from a disappointing loss to the Denver Nuggets with a blowout 148-111 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. While pretty much everybody who took the floor for the C’s turned in a solid outing, it was clear that this was the best game of Nikola Vucevic‘s young career with the Celtics.
Coming off the bench, Vucevic tied Jaylen Brown with a game-high 28 points while also hauling in 11 rebounds and dishing out four assists. Add in the fact that he shot 9/13 from the field, and it makes Vucevic’s outing even more impressive. In fact, these numbers helped Vucevic join a club that features a pair of Sixth Man of the Year winners, Payton Pritchard and Kevin McHale.
Last three Celtics to record 25+ PTS, 10+ REB and 85+ TS% off the bench:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) February 28, 2026
— 6th Man of the Year
— 6th Man of the Year
and Nikola Vucevic. pic.twitter.com/RXsPunn8WE
Vucevic is adapting to a new role with the Celtics, as this is the first time he’s been used exclusively off the bench since the early days of his career. So far, though, Vucevic has proven he can be a sparkplug scorer for the team when needed, as he’s averaging 12.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 48.1% from the field so far for Boston.
Considering how he started 48 games for the Chicago Bulls earlier this season, Vucevic isn’t going to be winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award anytime soon, but this does show how he could fill a crucial role for the team moving forward, especially with Jayson Tatum closing in on his return from injury. Boston will look to continue its winning ways on Sunday night when it squares off against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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Featured image via Usa Today
