Keys to the Game: Wizards 130, Celtics 111

Boston trailed by only two points with less than seven minutes left in the second quarter of Tuesday’s matchup with the Wizards. By the end of the half, Washington had opened up a 14-point advantage and it never gave that lead away before completing a 130-111 win.

The Wizards outscored Boston 29-18 over the final 6:26 of the half to take control of the game. The most devastating shot of all came just ahead of the halftime buzzer, when Kristaps Porzingis fired in a high-arcing midrange shot just ahead of the horn.

Washington led 62-51 with 2.0 seconds left in the half when Monte Morris tossed an inbound pass over the defense and to Porzingis at the free-throw line. He took one dribble to his left and fired up a shot over Al Horford that swished through the net at the buzzer.

That bucket gave Porzingis 20 points at the half while simultaneously giving the Wizards confidence that this was their night. Washington went on to coast throughout the second half, as its lead never dropped back into single-digits the rest of the way.

There weren’t many Celtics who had it going Tuesday night. Jayson Tatum was one of them.

Tatum led the team in scoring with 28 points thanks to his strong 11-for-19 shooting effort. He made nine of his 12 shots from inside the 3-point arc, as well as all four of his free throws.

Tatum also led Boston in the rebounding department with nine boards on the night. No other member of the team grabbed more than six. Lastly, Tatum and Marcus Smart tied for the team high in assists with five apiece.

These numbers were logged in less than 32 minutes of action, because Boston’s starters were pulled from the game with 9:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.