Not even Harry Potter would have been capable of helping the Wizards chances of defeating the Boston Celtics as they ran riot in the capital. The Washington Wizards defence struggled as the Celtics' offence caught fire putting up 77 first half points in the monster blow-out win. Jaylen Brown was massively responsible for the Celtics first half dominance, nailing 7/10 from beyond the arc on his way to 36 points, this combined with 33 points from Jayson Tatum led the Celtics to a resounding 126-107 victory on the road.
The Celtics got off to an incredible start dropping 44 first quarter points through an impressive 16 points from Jaylen Brown, who seems to have found his feet after his unimpressive outing against the Knicks on opening Night. Brown started the game 5/6 from downtown and finished the game shooting 61% from three, he also hauled in 6 rebounds and led the Celtics in plus-minus with +32. The Celtics rampant performance continued as they scored at will throughout the second quarter, as Jayson Tatum again caught fire adding 33 points on 67% shooting from the field. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown once again proved they are the best duo in the NBA, combining for 69 points in the game.
The second half continued with another repeat of the first half with the Celtics continuing to assert their dominance over the Wizards extending their lead up to 33 points leading 108-75 by the end of the third. Boston’s offensive system perfectly exploited the issues in the Wizards defence as their paint touches and inside presence allowed them to put up 102 shots making 50% from the field. The Celtics also continuing to improve their rebounding with them outrebounding the Wizards 51-40 (four more offensive rebounds).
The Wizards found it difficult gain any offensive rhythm with only Kyle Kuzma passing 20 points on a disappointing night from Jordan Poole - Poole who had previously won an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors against the Celtics shot just 20% from three. The Wizards had no answer to the Celtics' offence were unable to contain Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis. Confusingly the Wizards chose to start the game with no recognised Center - after Daniel Gafford was forced to miss the game with a sprained ankle - creating constant miss-matches for Porzingis who added 15 points in just 24 minutes on his return to the Wizards after spending the last 1 and ½ seasons there.
The only disappointment on the night for the Celtics was yet again the inconsistency of the bench as Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard shot just 2/15 from three and allowed the Wizards reserves to cut the Celtics' 33-point lead down to 16. As the Celtics cleared the bench with the entire fourth quarter still to play. Luke Kornet, Dalano Banton and Oshae Brissett all saw 10-12 minutes and failed to contribute anything meaningful. Undoubtedly moving forward, it is likely Neemias Queta, Lemar Stevens and Svi Mykhailiuk will see minutes to provide the bench with stability. Pritchard has especially disappointed of the bench this season, after his electric preseason, shooting only 10% from three on ten attempts so far this season.
Jaylen Brown when asked by ESPN about his performance had this to say “We’ve got a lot of talent. We’re going to be a lot more talented than a lot of teams.” Brown also added “We just try to take advantage of all of our opportunities”. Joe Mazzulla commented on the Celtics fast start “We’re really to make sure we come out with the right mindset the whole game. It doesn’t mean it’s going to go our way, but I really liked our approach”. The Celtics will return to Boston on Wednesday night looking to extend their unbeaten streak to four games against the Indiana Pacers.
By Will C
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