Lord of the Rims: Kornet, C’s Throw Axe Down on Suns

After flipping through part of “The Lord of the Rings” on the team bus ride to Footprint Center Saturday afternoon, Luke Kornet took a page out of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic epic fantasy and transformed into the Lord of the Rims for Boston’s prime-time battle with the Phoenix Suns.

With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined due to hamstring tightness, the Celtics called on Kornet to help fill in for the fallen member of their Fellowship. He stepped up to the challenge, Striding through Phoenix’s defense like AraKorn, scoring all 14 of his points at the rim in a 117-107 Celtics victory.

Boston’s 7-foot-2 center dwarfed Phoenix’s defense with the strength of Gimli, throwing the axe down for a career-high-tying five dunks as part of a 6-of-7 effort from the battlefield. The Suns tried throwing their entire staff at him with a “You Shall Not Pass” defensive method, but he just kept Sauron through the lane, invincible to their efforts.

Kornet also played a significant role in defending the other rim where he commanded the defense like a general. Joe Mazzulla gave him some kind words in that regard as a Tolkien of appreciation.

“He’s one of the best at our defensive system,” said Boston’s head coach. “He has an innate ability to communicate matchups, change matchups and change his coverage.

“There was one possession in the first half where he was in touch, but it was an empty side and he made a great decision to blitz it and Jrue (Holiday) came over and blocked the shot. So he’s got an innate ability to communicate our defensive system, but also make the right read defensively. It’s an under-appreciated skill that Luke has to be able to do that, and that’s why we trust him defensively.”

Boston’s only defensive weakness was its inability to stop Kevin Durant. The Durantula spun out a season-high 45 points to go along with 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists. Fortunately, the Celtics had a Shelob-threat of their own, wreaking havoc in the Suns’ lair.

Kornet spaced his dunks out across all four quarters, slamming two in the first followed by one apiece in the second, third, and fourth frames, finishing with two more dunks than the Suns had as a team. He didn’t attempt any shots from (Helms) Deep, but he did make a pair of free throws, each of which “only counted as one” point.

Fourteen points represented Kornet’s second-highest total of the season (20 points vs. Toronto on Dec. 29) and were the most he’s had in a road game since Nov. 16, 2022 (15 points at Atlanta).

The veteran big man also grabbed six rebounds (three on each end), blocked one shot, and finished with a plus/minus rating of plus-12. He left most of the rebounding to Boston’s wizard of the glass, (Gand)Alfred Horford, who earned a spot start at center and corralled a game-high 12 boards – all in the first half.

The win allowed Boston to avoid its first three-game skid of the season after starting off the road trip with losses at Cleveland and Denver. They’re just over halfway through their five-game trip, so they still have a chance to come home with a winning mark if they can capture both games of their back-to-back with Portland and Utah.

That should give Kornet plenty of time to make his way through the rest of his book. With a title like “Lord of the Rings,” it could provide great study material for June.