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BOSTON - Being one of very few veterans on the court for the banged-up Celtics Wednesday night, Marcus Morris had extra incentive to be Boston's go-to option as it took on the Washington Wizards at TD Garden. Not only was he hoping to make a significant statistical impact, but he was also aiming to be a strong veteran leader for a rookie-laden squad that was without six key players.
The seventh-year forward was able to do all the above, and more, for the C's, as he poured in a season-high 31 points, corralled nine rebounds, and helped lead Boston to a double-overtime thriller, before falling 125-124.
Not a bad overall effort in a game that most NBA pundits expected to be won convincingly by the mostly-healthy Wizards.
Initially, there was a great deal of buildup surrounding this nationally-televised matchup, but a slew of Celtics injuries lessened the hype entering play. Jaylen Brown (concussion), Al Horford (illness), Kyrie Irving (knee), Marcus Smart (thumb) and Daniel Theis (knee) were all unable to play, forcing the Celtics to field a squad that was mostly rookies.
It didn't take long, however, for the hype to return. The C's knew they were facing a daunting challenge, but Morris made sure his teammates had the right attitude heading in, and that made all the difference.
"We're going to fight regardless," said Morris. "We had a lot of guys out, but at the end of the day these guys are all NBA players. We might be younger, but we are going to fight and compete."
The C's showed that fight right from the start, as they built up an early lead. Marcus Morris scored 10 points out of the gate and had Boston in front 37-23 by the end of the first quarter. The Celtics extended that lead by as many as 20 points, but Washington was able to storm back during the third quarter, taking an 81-80 lead heading into the final frame.
Morris did his part to help the Celtics regain their advantage during the fourth quarter when he put nine more points on the board. Boston looked like it was about to escape with a win, but then Jodie Meeks knocked down a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left that tied the game up at 106-106 and forced overtime.
Five minutes later, Washington found itself on the brink of walking away with an overtime win, as it led 115-113 with less than 10 seconds to play. Jayson Tatum, however, managed to tie the game on a finger-roll layup with 3.1 seconds remaining to force another overtime.
There would not be a third OT, however, as Washington took a quick, six-point lead, before eventually closing out with a one-point win.
Still, it was one heck of an effort for the immensely shorthanded Celtics. And much of that had to do with the exceptional play and leadership that was displayed by Morris.
"We wouldn't have been there without Marcus," C's coach Brad Stevens stated after the game. "I thought tonight that Marcus would have to go for close to 35-40 (minutes) for us to win, because of the way that we were going to try to play. We were going to play him at the 3, we were going to post him a lot, we were going to go to him a lot in a lot of different scenarios, and he gave us almost that, which is pretty impressive."
The players around Morris were impressive as well, partly because of the confidence that he helped to instill within them.
"I knew I definitely had to be a leader for the guys," said Morris, who knocked down 11-of-22 shots from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, during his 44 minutes of action. "But I expect a lot out of them and they expect a lot out of themselves. I just had a couple words for them, but they're growing up every game. Tatum just turned 20 and he's playing like a veteran, T-Ro (Terry Rozier) has got a lot of respect in the league. So, I could just give them little tips, but those guys are growing up to NBA guys and they can play."
Those young guys also proved that they can hang with a playoff-caliber team despite not having most of their veteran teammates on the floor with them. Fortunately, the Celtics shouldn't have to face this problem again, as Horford and Irving will both travel with the team Thursday to Orlando. Horford is hoping to feel better in time for Friday's game against the Magic, and it's hopeful that Irving's left knee will be good enough to play on by Sunday evening when the C's face New Orleans.
"This would have been a good win for us without those guys," said Morris. "It would've been great for the confidence for the younger guys. But, we'll be happy when they get back."