BSJ Game Report: Celtics 112, Wizards 98 - C's lose Porzingis, but cruise thanks to Tatum and Pritchard

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Bilal Coulibaly started hot from 3, so the game was close until Jayson Tatum fueled a 10-0 run to close the first quarter. Boston built a 21-point lead early in the second as the run grew to 28-8, but a late Wizards run made it 15 at halftime. They managed to cut it to 10 during an uninspired third quarter, but Payton Pritchard helped turn things around and build the lead back up to 19. Washington did nothing to threaten the lead in the fourth.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Pritchard keeps rolling: He didn’t lead the Celtics in scoring (Tatum did with 28), but he hit the most timely shots of the game. He played a team-high 37 minutes, grabbed 11 rebounds (four offensive), and dished six assists. 

- Kristaps Porzingis leaves game: He left the game late in the second quarter and didn’t return due to heel pain in his right foot. He seemed to be in good spirits walking off the floor, smiling and pointing to Celtics fans in the crowd, but it’s still something to watch. Porzingis downplayed it after the game, calling his exit precautionary and saying he doesn't think it will cost him any time. 

- Wizards are AWFUL: They look terrible. They shot 40.4% overall and 32.5% from 3. They turned the ball over 16 times. They can’t stop anyone on the floor from doing anything. And they're led by Jordan Poole, who is super talented but an absolute losing player. Look at this play, where Pritchard fell and Poole took the time to point at Pritchard rather than shoot, giving Sam Hauser time to come over and contest. 

I know he and Pritchard had gotten into some trash talk in this game, but you can do your pointing AFTER you hit the shot. You don’t pre-talk trash. You talk your trash after you do something. 

 "I know he pointed at me when he tripped me, stepped on my foot – good move,” Pritchard said after the game. “But obviously if you're going to do something like that, maybe you're getting under somebody's skin a little bit."

The first thing the Wizards should do if they win the lottery is trade Poole away. You don’t want his attitude infecting a young future star. 

Oh, by the way, the Celtics have more wins at Capital One Arena this season (three) than the Wizards (two). 

TURNING POINT

Pritchard’s two 3-pointers with about three minutes to go in the third snapped the Celtics out of a quarter-long funk, pushing Boston’s lead from 10 to 16 in a flash. The Celtics lead never dropped below double-digits in the second half. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jayson Tatum: He had the most casual 28-point, 12-rebound night I’ve seen. He attacked Alex Sarr when he had the chance, cut nicely, and rebounded well. He was cold from 3 and had four turnovers but he still made it look really easy. 

It just says a lot that Tatum doesn’t have to utterly dominate the game to get 28 and 12 against a bad team. 

- Payton Pritchard: Watch his defense on Poole here:  

This is where the trash talk started. 

And then there's Pritchard on offense: 

He’s definitely on his way to some kind of postseason award if he keeps this up.

- Luke Kornet: He only scored seven points but he had 11 rebounds (five offensive), four assists, and a blocked shot. He did a nice job early with Horford not available, and then he became more important later when Porzingis was out. 

- Derrick White: 15 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, two blocks, one turnover, +18. This is the most “you know why” game you can get out of him. 

- Sam Hauser: A nice 4-9 3-point shooting night for him and, once again, we saw him hold his own on defense while being targeted for isos. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Jaylen Brown: After two of the most incredible games I’ve seen Brown play, he turned in a bit of a dud in this one. He shot 4-14 overall with three turnovers. It wasn’t all bad, but he was definitely not close to his usual self in this game. He even gave up a backdoor cut for a layup, a remnant of the old Jaylen Brown whose mind would drift off elsewhere when things weren’t going well for him. 

- The second half: Just erase it all from my memory. I don’t need to remember any of what happened after halftime in this game. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Tatum 😤that was vicious pic.twitter.com/9r5vEO7VD5

— Pull up shoot  (@NElGHT_) December 15, 2024

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Wins like this still matter. 

Let’s add this all up: No Horford, no Porzingis in the second half, and Jaylen Brown put up a dud. They still led by double digits the whole second half and by 15 or more for most of that. 

I’m not going to make a big thing about this game, but it’s still a blowout of an NBA team (yeah, I know, barely an NBA team, but an NBA team nonetheless) down a couple of guys and not getting the best from everyone on the team. 

This is a very forgettable game in the long run, but it’s worth something to the team.

Next up: The Celtics have three days off before hosting the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.