BSJ Game Report: Celtics 112, Wizards 94 - Brogdon finishes what Tatum and Brown started

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Washington Wizards, with BSJ insight and analysis:

IN A NUTSHELL

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown came out blistering hot, combining to outscore the Wizards themselves in the first quarter. They built the lead up to 24 before an 18-5 Wizards run cut the lead to 11 at the half. They floated around a 12-16 point lead for most of the third quarter until a Malcolm Brogdon-fueled run made it 21. That's where the lead hung for the rest of the night. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Malcolm Brogdon comes alive: He had a tough game in Chicago and made some critical mistakes in the loss to Cleveland, so it was nice to see him have such a great run in the third quarter. He was the key to taking this game from uncomfortably close to a comfortable blowout. 

Rebounding still an issue: The reason the Celtics gave the Wizards life in the second quarter was the 8 offensive rebounds the Wizards got. The Celtics cleaned it up a bit, but they remain susceptible to giving up second chances, and the corner crashes always seem to be there for the opposition.

“(We have to) continue to stress all five guys have to rebound,” Joe Mazzulla said. “It’s something that we talked about. We just can’t have guys leaking out, can’t have guys in the paint. And how it’s everybody’s responsibility. And we just have to make that commitment.”

Live by the 3: The Wizards actually made two more shots than the Celtics, but Boston was 21-47 from deep while the Wizards were 7-32. That's the recipe for a big loss. But the Celtics had a stagnant stretch where the 3s they were taking were too often after just one pass and early in the shot clock. Those didn’t fall, but when the ball started moving again, the shots started falling.

“I love three-pointers. I like math. I like open threes,” Mazzulla said after the game. “The thing we have to learn on the offensive end is just making sure we're getting the best actual shot every time down. And regardless of if it goes in or not. It's a good shot.”

TURNING POINT 

Brogdon scored 9 straight points in a 15-6 third quarter run that turned a 12-point game into a 21-point game. With Bradley Beal struggling (he had zero points until the 2:29 mark of the third), it was an opportune time to get hot just in case Beal woke up in the fourth (he sort of did, but it didn’t matter). 

SIX UP

Jayson Tatum: He started out brilliantly and finished with 23 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. The four turnovers were part of a second-quarter swoon, which can’t keep happening, but he was on fire early to set the tone for the game.

Jaylen Brown: He was just as hot as Tatum, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists. He was attacking incredibly well and he ended up defending Kristaps Porzingis on a few possessions. He got a little cold from 3 later in the game, but he had 16 in the first quarter when he and Tatum combined for 27 of Boston’s 34 points. He personally outscored Washington in the first quarter, 16-15.

Malcolm Brogdon: More on Brogdon coming up later, but he was the hammer that put the final nail into the Wizards’ coffin in the third quarter. 

Marcus Smart: The shooting numbers look bad again but he wasn’t out there gunning or anything. In fact, I thought he was very judicious with his shooting while making some spectacular defensive plays. His two steals were the out-of-nowhere pounces that made him the Defensive Player of the Year, and they both led to Celtics baskets. 

Grant Williams: He entered and left the building dressed as Batman, including doing his postgame interview in full costume AND Christian Bale growl. On the court, he had a nice return that included 4-6 shooting and making one tremendous play catching a long bomb from Brogdon and turning it into an assist to Sam Hauser. 

Sam Hauser: He was alright on the defensive end as well, which is the most important part of his game because it allowed him to play 23 minutes and get opportunities to do what he does best. He ended up shooting 3-5 from deep. 

ZERO DOWN

No one had an outright bad game. Al Horford and Derrick White had bad shooting nights, but they played well in other areas. Payton Pritchard got some early run but only played 7:24 in the game. The team had some tough stretches collectively in the second quarter when everyone sort of let up, but all of those guys involved made up for it at other points in the game.

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Ball movement = buckets

The second quarter lull came because they stopped moving the ball. They ended up shooting 8-22 in the quarter, but of those 8, 7 were assisted. 

I know that 48 minutes of basketball is a long time and the other team is going to make runs, but it’d be nice if those runs were simply because the other team got hot or started playing great rather than be fueled by Boston misses after quick shots. 

- Bradley Beal did them a favor

He was 0-12 at one point, and I don’t want the ultimately decisive win to hide the fact that a normal Beal game would have changed things dramatically. That second quarter could have gone much differently had Beal hit any of his shots. 

This ties into the first point about working the ball and getting good shots. They can’t rely on a lucky stretch to bail them out.

NEXT UP

The Celtics travel to Cleveland for a revenge game against the Cavs at 7:30 on ESPN. 

“When somebody does come in your house and they do what they did, to have an opportunity to go back to their house and see them as quick as we can that we are, you definitely have a more detail-oriented focus than you had in anybody else, especially that first game,” Smart said. “So they came in, they did what they were supposed to do, we gotta go do what we’re supposed to do.”