In a game the Celtics needed to win to keep alive their hopes at regaining the top seed in the Eastern Conference, they played one of their worst of the season. They were run off the court by the 34-42 Wizards, who were without two of their top three scorers in Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.
Though the Celtics can still get the No. 1 seed, their 130-111 loss Tuesday will make it very difficult, as Boston is now 2.5 games behind the Bucks for the top spot.
Boston got off to a slow start, as they finished the first half shooting just 22-for-52 (42.3%) from the field, and 7 of 25 (28%) from deep. By halftime, the Celtics found themselves trailing by 13. If not for the efforts of Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, that 13-point deficit could have been much larger.
Tatum and Smart combined for 34 of Boston's 51 first half points, while also adding a combined six assists. In total, Tatum and Smart scored or assisted on 20 of Boston's 22 first-half buckets. Only five Celtics recorded a point in the first half for Boston, and Celtics not named Tatum and Smart shot a combined 8-for-31(25.8%) in the first half.
Jaylen Brown, who had been on an absolute tear recently — in an effort to make a final push for All-NBA — struggled mightily in the first half. He finished with just eight points on 4 of 13 (30.8%) shooting. Brown bounced back in the third quarter, as he scored eight points on 4 of 5 (80%) shooting, but it was still not a great night for him, finishing with a team-worst -24 plus-minus.
Though Boston would finish the night shooting a respectable 45 of 93 (48.4%) from the field, their struggles from three hurt them, which has often been the case this season. The Celtics finished the night shooting just 11 of 44 (25%) from three, and they are now 5-9 when they shoot under 30% from three this season.
The real problem for the Celtics on Tuesday was their defense. They allowed 130 points to a Wizards team that entered this game 23rd in points per game, averaging 112.9. It was just the sixth time this season that Boston at least 130 points — they are now 1-5 in those games.
Boston's defense has gotten some heat this season, but it actually has been pretty good. They entered Tuesday possessing the fourth-best defensive rating in the league at 110.6 and had held their previous two opponents under 100 points.
Tuesday was a different story, however. Boston's defense was nothing short of horrific, as they got dominated in every facet of the game. Boston's defense was flat-out lazy, as they were out-rebounded (which drops them to 17-19 when they lose the rebounding battle), allowed 62 points in the paint and played some ugly transition defense.
The effort simply wasn't there for Boston, and Washington took advantage of it. One possession late in the first half, Wizards forward Corey Kispert missed a lay-up, was out of bounds, came back inbounds to grab his own rebound and made an easy-two point shot. As a team, Washington shot 54 of 99 (54.5%) from the field and 13-for-37 (35.1%) from three.
Kristaps Porzingis, who has had a good season for Washington, was on another level. He finished with 32 points, 13 boards and six assists. Boston had no answer for the 7-foot-3 Porzingis, who had his way all night.
Deni Avdija also poured in 25 points on 10 of 16 (62.5%) shooting, tying his career-high.
Joe Mazzulla threw the towel in with 9:21 left in the 4th quarter, as he pulled all his starters. Though Boston's reserves would put up a valiant effort, it was too little, too late. After the game, Mazzulla chalked it up as "One of those nights."
Boston has now had a couple of these lackluster performances against teams they should beat. Could they have been looking ahead to Thursday night's matchup in Milwaukee? Possibly, but with the loss, that matchup doesn't mean as much.
