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Key Moment
The Boston Celtics entered the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s matchup at Capital One Arena looking to make up for a 7-point deficit against the Washington Wizards. Instead, the opposite happened, as Washington doubled its lead to 14 points in a matter of three minutes to put Boston away for good.
Washington, which led 76-69 at the end of three quarters, held Boston to just one field goal during the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter, while it went on a 9-2 run.
Mike Scott started off the stretch with a dunk, and Bradley Beal finished it with seven consecutive points, capped off by a four-point play that gave the Wizards an 85-71 lead with 8:57 remaining.
Normally, the C’s would have a late run in them when facing a double-digit, fourth-quarter deficit, but this time their offense could not snap out of its stagnancy. Jaylen Brown was the only Celtic to hit a field goal during the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter, and by the time the rest of the team woke up, it was too far late.
Boston was never able to cut its deficit back down to single digits, allowing Washington to run away with a 113-101 win.
Key Player
It appeared as if Jaylen Brown was in line for an epic performance Tuesday night, as he opened up with a 21-point first quarter against Washington. By the second half, however, Wizards guard John Wall had taken all the spotlight from Brown, as he put forth one of the best all-around efforts of his career.
Wall put on a one-man show for Washington, finishing with 29 points – two more than Brown – 12 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks. He also made history by dishing out his 5,000th career assist – a mark that no other player in Wizards history had reached before him.
Remarkably, this was only Wall's fourth game back after returning from mid-season knee surgery. However, he looked stronger and better than ever, as he torched the C's in all areas of the game.
Box Score Nuggets
- John Wall tallied game highs of 29 points and 12 assists.
- Jaylen Brown scored 21 of his 27 points during the first quarter.
- The Wizards assisted on 32 of their 41 field goals.
- Al Horford corralled a season-high 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
- The Celtics corralled 13 offensive boards, which helped them tally 13 second-chance points.
- Boston forced Washington to commit 20 turnovers, including seven by Wall.
- Jayson Tatum snagged four of Boston's 14 steals.
- The Celtics led by as many as 11 points and trailed by as many as 17.
- Brown was the only Celtics starter to make more than three shots. He was 8-of-18.
- Boston's bench outscored Washington's second unit, 39-36.
- In less than three minutes of action, Kadeem Allen was able to log six points, three rebounds and three assists.
Quote of the Night
Jaylen Brown when asked of his concern level after the loss.