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Key Moment
You had the feeling Sunday afternoon that the Celtics were going to down Washington in runaway fashion. That feeling came to fruition at the start of the second half.
Boston used a 10-0 run from the 10:55 mark of the third quarter to the 8:58 mark to double its lead from 10 up to 20. And there was no turning back from there.
The Celtics continued to pour it on for the remainder of the afternoon before polishing off a 144-102 victory. They led by as many as 43 points while shooting the lights out from everywhere on the floor.
Four of Boston’s players combined to stitch together the game-changing, 10-0 run. Marcus Smart got the ball rolling with a driving layup before Jaylen Brown got in on the action with a cutting, and-one layup. He scored the bucket off a pass from Al Horford.
Brown then shared the love by dishing an assist to Daniel Theis for a layup to make it a 7-0 run. And 53 seconds later, Horford capped the spurt with a 3-pointer off of an assist from Jayson Tatum.
Eight of the 10 points during the run were scored off of an assist, which speaks to the level of ball movement with which the Celtics played Sunday afternoon. They finished the contest with a season-high 39 assists on 56 made baskets.
Key Player
Jaylen Brown continues to shoot the lights out for the Boston Celtics. He scored a game-high 32 points Sunday afternoon to mark his fifth effort of at least 30 points during his last eight appearances.
During that stretch of action, Brown has shot the ball at an extraordinary level. He canned 12 of his 17 field goals Sunday to mark the seventh time in his last eight games during which he shot at least 52 percent from the field. He also sank four of his five 3-pointers Sunday afternoon to mark his eighth straight game of shooting at least 40 percent from the field.
Brown went well beyond shooting and scoring Sunday when it came to his contributions to this game. He also hauled in seven boards, dished out five assists and grabbed two steals during his 28-plus minutes of action.
Yes, that’s right – he needed less than 29 minutes to accrue all of those numbers. And while he was on the floor, Boston outscored Washington by a whopping 36 points.
Box Score Nuggets
- Boston dished out a season-high 39 assists.
- Boston's bench combined to shoot 15-for-23 from long distance.
- Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 32 points.
- Four Celtics reserves scored at least 11 points, led by Derrick White's 17.
- Grant Williams scored 16 points off the bench while shooting 4-for-5 from long distance.
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Washington with 17 points.
- Boston's bench scored 67 points.
- The Celtics committed only seven turnovers.
- Four of Boston's five starters dished out at least five assists. Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum led the team and game with seven assists.
- Boston shot 61.5 percent from the field and 52.3 percent from 3-point range.
Quote of the Night
Ime Udoka on Boston's blowout win