Washington have won just nine games this season, and their lack of defensive effort showed exactly why. On the flip side the Celtics held the NBA’s top-ranked defence, but they played with a disappointing level of intensity on defence and allowed a poor side a route into the game. Boston gave up 71 points in the first half alone, including 26 fast break points (almost double what they usually concede each game). However, in the end all it took was an improved stretch of defending in the 3rd quarter and some incredible offensive plays from Jayson Tatum to gain the win 133-129.
The Celtics played some extremely poor defence in the first half, and especially in the first quarter. Boston gave up 18 fast break points in the opening period, as the Celtics overreacted on help defence and crashed the offensive glass too heavily. Jordan Poole benefited most from Boston’s lacklustre defence early in the game, as he looked to bounce back from a scoreless outing against the Cavaliers the night before. He contributed 11 points in just the first quarter and finished up with 19 points and 5 assists for the game.
Not too much changed for Boston in the second period, they restricted the Wizards slightly better in transition, but that was replaced by poor perimeter coverage. The Celtics gifted Washington 20 3-point shots on 48% shooting, as they dropped far below their usual perimeter defending standards. Only two people kept the Celtics in contention – Tatum and Porzingis – they drove inside and scored at free will. They exploited Washington’s clear lack of size with no recognised center in the lineup (after they traded Daniel Gafford at the deadline) especially Kristaps Porzingis who once again played fabulously in the post.
All the Celtics needed was a single 12-minute quarter, they finally locked in defensively and showed their real quality. Boston held the Wizards to just 16 points in the period and contributed 36 of their own. Tatum carried the offense through the stretch, scoring 13 points including a 3-pointer to put the Celtics up by 17 with just 12.1 seconds left in the third. He finished with 35 points and was just two assists shy of a triple-double.
For the most part Boston kept the Wizards at an arm’s length, until they connected on four 3-point shots on five trips down the floor to cut the Celtics lead all the way down to 7. Luckily for Boston Porzingis was on hand to put the final nail in Washington’s coffin, he posted up then nailed a 20ft mid-range shot to extend Boston’s lead to 6 with 30 seconds left to play. Porzingis’ extended run of excellent play continued, as he finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds to seal Boston’s 40th win of the season.
Boston’s head coach Joe Mazzulla spoke after the game about his team falling into bad habits “I don’t think they’re bad habits. I do think there have been some moments of slippage throughout games. What I care about more is our response to slippages”. Boston will now head to South Beach to face the Miami Heat for a second Eastern Conference finals rematch of the season.
By Will C
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