The Celtics went at full throttle on Tuesday night to try to eliminate the possibility of a first round matchup with the Wizards, but fell short in Capital One Arena. Washington outscored the Celtics 91-71 over the final three frames to overcome a 21-point first quarter from Jaylen Brown and pull away with a 113-101 victory.
GAME: No. 81 of 82:
WHO: Celtics (54-26) vs. Wizards (42-38)
WHEN: 8:00 EST
WHERE: Capital One Arena
RADIO: 98.5 the Sports Hub
TV: TNT
Projected starters
Celtics
PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Wizards
PG: John Wall
SG: Bradley Beal
F: Otto Porter Jr.
F: Markieff Morris
C: Marcin Gortat
First Half Notes
- Jaylen Brown started this game with the best quarter of his life. He posted 21 first quarter points, mostly via open 3s all over the perimeter. He went 4-of-5 from deep, becoming the first Celtic since Paul Pierce to score 20 points or more in the first quarter.
- Marked by Brown's offensive output, C's came out hungrier in this one. They were aggressive on defense going after balls and attacking the glass.
- Some terrific defense by Aron Baynes early, containing Gortat and holding his own in switches against the Wizards guards. He even drilled a corner 3.
- Rough shooting performance by Tatum early who was just 2-of-8 from the field in the first half against the length of Otto Porter Jr.
- C's piled up eight steals thanks to some active hands and lackluster passing by an uninspired Wiz squad.
- Wiz bench unit actually changed the tenure of this game in the second quarter. They showed some fight on D, stalling a Celtic offense that couldn't find points with Brown resting and Tatum/Morris struggling.
- Wall continually punished the C's defense on his drives when he got back into this game, posting a game-high seven free throws in the first half.
- More encouraging minutes from Semi Ojeleye on the offensive end, who hit both his shots, including a nice finish in the paint.
- Brown went scoreless in the second quarter after his big first half.
Pregame Notes
- The Celtics plan on playing their full collection of starters regular minutes in the final road game of the year. A Boston win would guarantee the Celtics wouldn't have to face the Wizards in the first round.
- Guerschon Yabusele remains out of the lineup for Boston with a sore knee after he hurt it during Friday's win over the Bulls.
- Keep an eye on the usage of Jabari Bird in this one. He's still in the running for a potential playoff roster spot and matching him up against a shooting guard like Bradley Beal could be a good test for his value over Abdel Nader given the C's struggles in guarding him all year.
- The Wizards have lost four straight games overall, which has dropped them into the No. 8 seed in the East entering tonight's game. If they lose against Boston, they will face Toronto in the first round of the postseason.