Final: Wizards 111, Celtics 103

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to BSJ members out there! Excited that the Celtics are at home for this one (which helped to keep Christmas plans intact). Let's get to the primer

GAME: No. 37 of 82
WHO: Celtics (27-9) vs. Wizards (18-15)
WHEN:  5:30 EST
WHERE:  TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: ABC
BOX SCORE: ESPN.COM

Starting Lineups:

Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes

Wizards
PG: John Wall
SG: Bradley Beal
SF: Otto Porter Jr.
PF: Markieff Morris
C: Marcin Gortat

Third Quarter Notes

• Another sluggish start by the starting five had Brad Stevens burning a timeout again just 90 seconds into the frame


• Stevens pulled the plug on Baynes quickly at the center spot, electing to go small with Marcus Morris, but the smallball lineup made little headway for much of the frame.


• Morris was moving around decently, but his outside shot is understandable not there yet. He went 1-of-7 from the field through three quarters and struggled to stick with Otto Porter Jr. on the perimeter at times.


• Porter was an absolute stud in the quarter, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, largely with a variety of open looks from downtown (3-of-5)


• Bench unit continues to play with more defensive energy than the starters in this game. Rozier and Theis have arguably been the team's best all-around players thus far over three quarters in their limited minutes.


• The 3-ball started falling (4-of-9) in the frame, but C's didn't have much luck attacking the rim (just 11 free throw attempts through three).


• Wizards starters have combined to score 71 of the team's 80 points through three.

• Stevens called a timeout less than a minute into the frame after a sluggish start by the bench + Tatum unit against a bad Wizards second unit. Team wasn't executing well on offense and Wizards were also getting open looks.


• The sense of urgency improved right away after the timeout, as C's jumped out to a 12-4 run to tie up the game at 36. Terry Rozier, Shane Larkin and Daniel Theis suffered as the standouts (16 early combined points) to close the gap.


• Theis was particularly strong on the defensive end with a lot of strong contests on recovering to his man following help defense in the lane. The value of his versatility as a mobile big continues to be underrated.


• C's finally starting getting the ball to Tatum and Horford in the second quarter and it paid off. The duo combined for 13 of Boston's 26 points on 6-of-9 shooting.


• That scoring was combated by John Wall, who got going against Shane Larkin, Kyrie Irving and Shane Larkin (eight points) after a scoreless first quarter.


• Jaylen Brown (1-of-4) continues to struggle from the free throw line.


• Aron Baynes didn't get back into the game after his opening stint to the game.


• Wizards are looking much better on both ends when Kelly Oubre Jr. (9 points) is playing in place of Markieff Morris (3 fouls in first half). Will be curious to see if Scott Brooks goes small in second half with him more.

• Sluggish start to the game for both sides. Both teams got plenty of open looks early but weren't knocking them down, perhaps shaking off a little bit of a Christmas Eve hangover.


• Aron Baynes in particular had three good looks in the paint with his left hand but didn't knock any down.


• Guards were the source of offense form the C's, but their shooting (0-of-5 from 3) wasn't translating early (13 total points).


• Marcus Morris returned to the game after an eight-game absence midway through the first quarter. He's had a relatively uneventful stint early, missing a couple boxouts but not looking for his shot (0 attempts in four minutes.


• Just one combined shot for Al Horford and Jayson Tatu in first quarter. Not ideal.


• Early turnovers (five) for the C's have led to easy transition looks for the Wizards (seven points).


• Offensive rebounding has been non-existent for both teams so far, which Brad Stevens has to be happy with since Wizards killed the C's regularly in that department last year.

• Marcus Morris plans to make his return to the lineup for the Christmas Day showdown with his twin brother, after missing the past eight games with a sore left knee. Shane Larkin is also likely to be available after a two-game absence due to a sore knee.


• Semi Ojeleye is doubtful after taking a hard fall on his back during a dunk attempt in the first half of Saturday's win over the Bulls.


• The Celtics will be playing their first home game in franchise history on Christmas in the matchup.


• The Wizards have lost nine straight games at the TD Garden, including all six of their matchups last year during the regular season (two) and postseason (four).


• Tonight is the first matchup between the two squads since the Eastern Conference Semifinals last postseason, but with 10 new faces on the Celtics, there isn't much bad blood left over from the battle. “I never thought of it as a rivalry and there are a lot of new faces," Marcus Smart said Saturday night. "And we’re playing on Christmas so it’s going to be hard for a lot of people because a lot of people are family people and they’re not most likely going to be with their family. But it’s going to be fun to be able to do what you love to do on a special day.”