The Wizards closed their 3-game road trip in Boston on Sunday night. They dug themselves into a deep hole in the first half, trailing 55-70 at the half. Washington just couldn’t stick with the ball movement and shooting percentage the Celtics played with. Even so, a late fourth-quarter push gave the Wizards a chance. The Wiz would still fall short, losing 130-121.
The Celtics dominated in every category except for turnovers. This was all done without MVP candidate, Jayson Tatum, in the lineup. So with Tatum out, Jaylen Brown had some huge shoes to fill. He did just that, scoring a team-high 36 points for Boston.
The Wizards were able to force 14 turnovers while only turning the ball over 4 times. The only issue was that the Celtics were able to accumulate 26 points off turnovers to the Wizards’ 6. Another problem for the Wizards was the 3-point shooting, for which the Wizards shot a mere 25%, forcing them to settle for points in the paint.
On the other side of the court, the Celtics had a field day offensively. Boston shot 55% from the field, 47% from deep, and 100% from the charity stripe. They were also able to out-rebound the Wizards 38-29 including 10 offensive ones.
Bradley Beal did all he could for Washington, recording his 11th game of 20 points or more with a 30-point night. Washington’s center, Kristaps Porzingis, also got back on track, scoring 21 points and shooting 63% from the field. However, the absence of Kyle Kuzma due to lower back pain proved to be costly with the Wizards struggling to find a third option on the offense.
Washington is now .500 (10-10) and sits 8th in the Eastern Conference. They suit up again tonight, this time back in the District, against the Timberwolves. Tip-off is at 7 pm EST.
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