Celtics dominate Wizards, win by 34 without Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Apr 6, 2025

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BOSTON — Even without the services of two of their best players, the Celtics cruised to an expectedly one-sided victory over the last-place Washington Wizards on Sunday

With starters Jayson Tatum (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness) both sitting out, Boston defeated Washington 124-90 at TD Garden to improve to 58-20.

Seven Celtics players scored in double figures, with Derrick White leading all starters with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Big men Luke Kornet (13 points, 14 rebounds) and Al Horford (11 points, 10 rebounds) started in place of Tatum and Porzingis and both notched double-doubles.

Jaylen Brown, playing through what he’s described as a painful knee injury, recorded 15 points, five assists and two rebounds in limited action, logging 22 minutes before checking out midway through the first quarter.

Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser combined for 38 points off the bench for the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining.

The Wizards own the East’s worst record at 17-61, and they entered Sunday’s game with just eight available players, six of whom were 23 years old or younger. Their five starters were 19, 19, 20, 23 and 25.

Ex-Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who was traded from Memphis to Washington in February, dressed for the game but did not play against his former team, with Wizards head coach Brian Keefe ignoring the loud “We want Marcus” chants that echoed through the arena during the fourth quarter.

The Celtics nearly doubled up their youthful foes in the first quarter, opening up a 34-18 lead while shooting 7 for 16 from 3-point range. Seven different Celtics scored between two and eight points in the opening frame, with Horford, Jrue Holiday and Hauser each hitting a pair of 3s.

Boston routinely generated open looks for the 38-year-old Horford against Alex Sarr, the Wizards’ 19-year-old rookie big man. At one point early in the second quarter, the Celtics had as many made 3s (nine) as Washington had total made field goals.

The Celtics were much less efficient inside the arc – they missed 12 shots in the paint and eight at the rim in the first half alone – yet still led 60-39 at halftime. They outscored the Wizards by 30 points on 3-point shots in the first half, going 13 for 28 to Washington’s 3 for 23.

White and Holiday, who combined for zero first-half points in Friday’s win over Phoenix, were Boston’s leading first-half scorers, notching 14 and 11 points, respectively, while going 7 for 12 from distance.

Brown had his most impactful sequence midway through the third quarter. After a quiet first half, he hit a 3-pointer, sank a pull-up jumper from 20 feet, then made another 3 off an assist from Holiday, all in a four-possession span. Brown was shut down for the night shortly thereafter, heading to the bench with 4:45 remaining in the third and Boston up 81-60

Rookie Baylor Scheierman then took over hot-hand duties from his veteran teammate. Within two minutes of checking in as Brown exited, Scheierman drilled two 3s and fed a no-look, mid-air, behind-the-back pass to Holiday for a driving layup. His second triple came off an offensive rebound from Horford, who hit one of his own moments later. The rest of Scheirman’s 21 minutes were less impressive, as he finished 2 for 6 from three fouls and four turnovers.

The other non-rotation backup who saw action before garbage time was Torrey Craig. The energetic veteran wing bounced back from a rough outing in Wednesday’s blowout loss to Miami, registering eight rebounds, three blocks and one made three in his 16 minutes of floor time.

After three quarters, the Celtics led 100-68 and were within striking distance of the single-game NBA record for made 3s (29), which they tied in their season opener. They finished with 24, including five by White, four each by Pritchard and Hauser and three by Holiday, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

As the crowd urged Washington to put in Smart late in the game, the former Celtics fan favorite was involved in an apparent altercation with an individual behind the Wizards bench. Smart could be see shouting at one fan, who was later removed from the arena by stadium security.

The Celtics will play their final back-to-back of the season this Tuesday and Wednesday in New York and Orlando – the latter being a possible first-round playoff preview, pending the result of the 7 vs. 8 play-in game that’s likely to include the Magic – before closing out the regular season with two home games against the lottery-bound Charlotte Hornets.

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