For the primary quarter of Monday night time’s sport at TD Backyard, the Celtics’ offense consisted of Jaylen Brown, and never a lot else.
Brown poured in 16 first-quarter factors, however Boston trailed cellar-dwelling Washington by 14 — an uninspiring begin for a staff that had just lost at home to the likely lottery-bound Utah Jazz two nights earlier.
Then, reinforcements arrived.
With Brown watching from the bench, his Celtics teammates blitzed the Wizards, scoring 23 of the primary 27 factors within the second quarter. Boston constructed a 10-point lead by halftime and broke the sport open within the third quarter en path to a much-needed 136-107 rout at TD Backyard.
The win snapped a two-game dropping streak for the 4-5 Celtics, who now head to Orlando for 2 video games in opposition to the Magic on Friday and Sunday. Washington fell to 1-7.
Brown led all scorers with 35 factors on 13-of-21 taking pictures (2-for-4 from 3-point vary; 7-for-9 on free throws) regardless of sitting out your complete fourth quarter with Boston up massive. It was his fifth 30-point outing in 9 video games since taking up for the injured Jayson Tatum because the Celtics’ No. 1 possibility.
His 35 factors in 26 minutes? By no means achieved earlier than by a Celtics participant. Simply three NBA players in the last five seasons had scored that many factors in that quick an outing.
“For me, I’m simply being aggressive and attempting to empower my teammates as a lot as doable,” Brown mentioned.
The Celtics additionally received an explosive efficiency from their latest starter, Josh Minott. The 22-year-old scored a career-high 21 factors whereas taking pictures 8-for-12, hitting three 3-pointers and throwing down 4 acrobatic dunks — together with a pair of transition lobs from Brown and Derrick White, and a third-quarter posterization of Marvin Bagley III.
Heart Neemias Queta, Boston’s chief in web score this season, turned in a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double on 7-of-7 taking pictures (with 5 assists, a block and a steal) and was a plus-23 in 24 minutes. White and Payton Pritchard have been plus-22 and plus-36, respectively, with White displaying some encouraging enchancment as a shooter (4-for-8, 2-for-5 from three) whereas tallying eight assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
White entered the sport taking pictures a team-worst 31.0% from the sector. Pritchard, who’s struggled from the perimeter however excelled within the midrange, scored 18 factors on 7-of-12 taking pictures (2-for-6 from three).
Brown shot 7-for-11 within the first quarter, and Minott sank each of his 3-point makes an attempt. These have been about the one early positives for the Celtics, who have been outscored 37-23 throughout an unpleasant opening body.
Queta’s two baskets have been the one different factors Boston scored within the quarter. The Celtics surrendered 13 second-chance factors — greater than the Wizards, who got here in ranked twenty eighth in that metric, have been averaging per sport this season — and allowed 14 factors to Washington’s bench whereas getting none from their very own. And that was with six completely different Boston bench gamers seeing motion as head coach Joe Mazzulla shuffled by a number of lineup combos.
The one he despatched out to start out the second quarter yielded a lot stronger outcomes. Using a unit of Pritchard, White, Minott, Queta and seldom-used reserve Jordan Walsh, the Celtics ripped off a 23-4 run to flip the sport.
Pritchard, who’d been known as to the bench early within the sport after choosing up two fast fouls, hit two 3-pointers throughout that Celtics onslaught whereas including to his rising assortment of midrange makes. White additionally supplied two second-quarter threes, and Walsh delivered his most impactful shift of the season up to now.
Ranked final on the Celtics roster in minutes performed getting into Wednesday, the third-year professional transformed a contested layup, had a steal that led to one among White’s triples and pulled down 4 rebounds, together with a troublesome defensive board that produced a leap ball.
“I believed he was nice tonight,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I believed simply each ends of the ground, his presence defensively, his rebounding, his positioning, he has received good defensive instincts. I believed he performed rather well. I believed our protection modified it, however I additionally suppose he sparked the change within the sport tonight, simply due to the way in which he performs. It’s a credit score to him simply staying prepared, ensuring he’s prepared at any time.
Walsh added a 3-pointer halfway by the third quarter as Boston stretched its result in 20 factors, then 25, then 30. He completed as a plus-27 in 24 minutes, by far one of the best mark of any non-starter.
General, the Celtics shot 39.0% from past the arc within the win, a serious enchancment over their season-worst 21.6% showing Monday night time in opposition to Utah.
Minott, 6-for-22 getting into Wednesday, went 3-for-6 in the most efficient 3-point effort of his profession. The Celtics are 4-2 since Mazzulla elevated him to the beginning lineup.
“Josh is big-time, man,” Queta mentioned. “He performs with quite a lot of power. He’s going to rebound for us. He’s going to protect just about their greatest (participant), too. His versatility is big-time, and we’ve been enjoying nice since he received to the beginning lineup. He’s been a fantastic addition for our staff.”
Minott and Queta couldn’t escape Mazzulla’s ire, nonetheless, even in a lopsided win. The Celtics coach laid into each gamers after late-game lapses, which Minott described as “very energetically telling me what I did fallacious.”
“Simply teaching them,” Mazzulla mentioned. “These guys need to be coached. They need to be held accountable. They’ve performed some actually good issues for us, and I feel with the intention to get to a spot that we all know we are able to get to, we’ve simply received to combat for execution on a regular basis. In order that they perceive that, they maintain themselves to a excessive normal, they usually did a fantastic job of that. We’ve simply received to maintain that up.”
Boston performed a lot of the fourth quarter with a small-ball lineup of Anfernee Simons, Hugo Gonzalez, Sam Hauser, Walsh and Minott. Enjoying time was restricted for Queta’s understudies on the large man depth chart; Garza logged simply seven minutes and Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher each have been wholesome DNPs.
The Celtics will look to get again to .500 and enhance to 2-0 in NBA Cup play (after their dramatic win at Philadelphia final Friday) after they go to the Magic on Friday.
