Former Wolverine Caris LeVert goes off for 51-point performance vs. Boston Celtics

Caris LeVert is the toast of the NBA coming off his Tuesday night performance against the Boston Celtics. Entering the fourth quarter of play with 14 points and his team down 84-67, LeVert finished the game with 51 points on 17-of-26 shooting in the contest after going off in the fourth quarter and overtime.

The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum but that does not make the performance any less impressive. Brooklyn has been playing without Kevin Durant all season and Kyrie Irving for most of the year, making LeVert the go-to guy on the team at the moment. He had been averaging 22.5 points per game since Feb. 1 since Irving last played.

No NBA player in the last 20 years had scored more in the fourth quarter and overtime than the 37 points that LeVert was able to put on the board. LeVert tied the game with 0.2 seconds left down 118-115 when he was fouled from three-point range. He sunk all three of his free throws to send it to overtime and outscored the Celtics 11-2 in the period to secure the victory for Brooklyn.

LeVert, 25, was the 20th overall pick of the Indiana Packers back in 2016 and then had his rights sent to the Nets via trade. LeVert has battled injury problems in college and the NBA, but just may be starting to break out even more with opportunities to shine given Brooklyn’s injured stars.

A once overlooked high school recruit and three-star prospect, LeVert was a four-year player at Michigan and played on teams were national runners-up in 2013 and Elite Eight participants in 2014. He played and started in 37 games in 2013-14, but would suit up for only 33 games in the final two years of his college career.

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