In a sport in any other case missing for narratives, there was sadly no St. Louis showdown within the nation’s capital this night. For the Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup after lacking Sunday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs, however his outdated buddy Bradley Beal didn’t do likewise for tonight’s opponents, the Washington Wizards. However whereas Wizards lacked their franchise participant, they didn’t lack for shot-making this night, as they scored a shock 130-111 blowout win.
Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup and led the best way for the Celtics with 28 factors, whereas Jaylen Brown had a quiet night — no less than by his current requirements — and scored 18 on 9-of-19 taking pictures. An off night time from the Boston offense was removed from sufficient to maintain tempo with the red-hot Wizards, nevertheless. They shot 54.5% from the ground and linked on 13 threes, operating the Celtics off the ground at instances and pushing the sport into blowout territory early within the second half.
As if in response to Brown’s electrical night time in opposition to the Spurs — which started with an enormous first quarter — Tatum was extraordinarily sharp from the opening tip. Persevering with his aggressive, downhill tempo from the Sacramento and Indiana video games, he once more positioned a pointed emphasis on attacking the rim. He scored 11 factors within the opening quarter, however Brown and the remainder of the Celtics scuffled, and the Wizards had been in a position to take a modest 29-23 lead behind 10 factors from Porzingis.
Tatum’s onslaught continued into the second quarter, however solely Marcus Good appeared to have his again. Good caught hearth halfway by the quarter, connecting on three triples en path to 14 first half factors. The egalitarian, Beal-less Washington offense greater than stored up, nevertheless. The tempo of the sport ramped up considerably, and the Wizards thrived on it, displaying some ridiculous shot-making on the best way to an 13-point halftime lead, 64-51.
The proceedings went from dangerous to dire because the Celtics got here out of the gates within the second half trying sluggish, at greatest. The Wizards drove their lead all the best way as much as 20 within the early minutes of the quarter, with a Corey Kispert three-pointer — his third of the night time — prompting a Joe Mazzulla timeout with slightly below 7:30 to play within the third quarter. Porzingis’s good night time continued, as compiled 27 factors, 10 rebounds and 6 assists by three quarters, trying like the most effective participant on the ground within the course of. No inroads had been made because the Celtics misplaced their third consecutive quarter, trailing 99-78 getting into the fourth.
The Celtics got here up with no solutions within the early minutes of the fourth quarter, staying in lock-step with the Wizards for the primary three minutes. In a shocking transfer, Mazzulla then opted to empty the bench, bringing within the reserves with greater than 9 minutes to play in regulation. The platoon change sparked a little bit of momentum, with the Celtics rattling off a 12-2 lead and whittling the lead all the way down to 10 factors. It was a false hope, although; after a timeout, the Wizards stabilized themselves with a few buckets from Porzingis, and that was all she wrote.
Subsequent up is the large one: Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks, a heavyweight title combat which will nonetheless have implications for the highest seed within the Japanese Convention. They’ll tip off at 7:30 PM EST on TNT.
