Tonje impresses at Summer League

Saturday afternoon’s Summer League finale may have been a consolation game, but neither Boston nor Orlando treated it that way.

With roster spots and future opportunities on the line, both teams battled from the opening tip until the final buzzer before the Magic escaped with a 103-97 victory to close out the Las Vegas showcase.

Several of Boston’s top Summer League performers were held out, including second-year wing Hugo Gonzalez and 2026 draft picks Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell. Even without that trio, the Celtics still delivered their most efficient offensive performance of the summer.

Boston shot 56.3 percent from the field and knocked down 17-of-37 3-pointers (45.9 percent) after shooting 31.5 percent from beyond the arc through its first four games.

Caleb Grill was the lead chef for the offense, pouring in a team-high 18 points while cooking from long distance with four makes on nine attempts. The 6-foot-3 guard, who helped the Greensboro Swarm capture the G League championship last season, had logged just eight total minutes through Boston’s first four Summer League games before nearly tripling that workload with a team-high 22 minutes Saturday.

John Tonje also capped off an impressive summer with another productive outing, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding four rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. Tonje was Boston’s most consistent scorer throughout the five-game schedule, finishing between 14 and 20 points in four out of five appearances. He led the team with 74 total points and a team-high 14 made 3-pointers while also flashing his athleticism Saturday with a soaring fast-break dunk through the lane.

“I’m pretty confident. Maybe even delusional,” said Tonje, who spent the second half of last season on a two-way contract with Boston. “I think I’m an NBA player, and that’s what I’m striving to get to and be at. So I like where I’m at right now, and just gonna keep working.”

Undrafted rookie Tucker DeVries continued strengthening his case for an NBA roster spot, scoring 11 points in 16 minutes while shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. It marked his third double-digit scoring performance of the summer and his third game with at least three made 3-pointers.

Nick Pringle delivered the afternoon’s biggest highlight with an emphatic put-back slam late in the first quarter. Once he popped, the fun didn’t stop; Pringle chipped in across the board with four points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three blocks.

Boston wrapped up Summer League with a 3-2 record. Gonzalez emerged as the team’s standout performer, leading the Celtics in scoring (18.3 points per game) and assists (5.7) while ranking second in rebounds (8.0) and steals (1.7) per game. Amari Williams paced the team in rebounding (8.3 per game) and finished second in blocks (2.7 per game), while Cenac (2.8 blocks per game) and Mitchell (2.7 steals per game) led Boston’s defensive categories during an encouraging trip to Vegas.