The Wizards dominated from the opening tip as the Celtics dropped their fourth straight Saturday night by a score of 101-88. The Cs have given up 100 or more points in those four games while only getting to the 100 mark themselves once.
The Celtics continued their recent trend of getting off to a slow start on the road, losing tonight’s first quarter 30-12. The Cs have now been outscored 84-42 in the 1st quarter over their last three road games.
Jeff Green led Boston’s offense for the second day in a row, remaining aggressive and scoring 23 points. Kelly Olynyk put together another solid performance with 15 points and 8 rebounds on 6 of 11 shooting. For the Wizards, it was a couple of former Celtics leading the way as Paul Pierce scored 17 points in just 19 minutes and Kris Humphries went for 18 and 9 off the bench.
The first quarter was miserable, as the Celtics turned the ball over 8 times leading to 11 Wizards points. Marcus Smart got the early hook after 3 turnovers in just 4 minutes and Green was the only starter to score in the period with 9 points. The Celtics won the second quarter, but only by a point and went into the lockeroom trailing by 17.
The Celtics played a solid 3rd, but were unable to string enough stops together to make a meaningful run and cut into Washington’s lead. Kelly Olynk had 4 points, 7 boards and 2 assists in the quarter, doing a little bit of everything. The Cs then won the 4th against the Wizards second unit, as all five starters were on the bench for the entire period.
Overall, this was a really disappointing performance for the Celtics. Washington has a shot to win the Eastern Conference, but Boston has typically shown the ability to stick with good teams. Even when the Celtics fell behind to the Wizards the last time, they showed some life with a nice comeback effort. There wasn’t any of that tonight.
The Green:
- Jeff Green: In a game where there weren’t a whole lot of positives, Jeff Green turned in a nice performance. He struggled with his outside shot a bit, but attacked the rim and went 7 for 8 from the foul line.
- Kelly Olynyk: Olynyk is earning back some of the minutes Tyler Zeller took away. He is a vital component of the Celtics offense with his ability to stretch the floor, run the court and pass the basketball. Even in a game where he didn’t hit a three, Olynyk had 15 points.
The Gross:
- Marcus Smart: It was a rough performance from Smart from the start of this one, as he turned the ball over 3 times in 4 minutes and was benched for most of the rest of the half. He totaled just 14 minutes on the night.
- Tyler Zeller: Zeller was another Celtics starter who didn’t see a lot of minutes, playing just 12 tonight. He missed a few bunnies early in the 1st and Stevens didn’t go back to him until the end of the 3rd. With the Celtics frontcourt depth, the margin for error is slim.
- Avery Bradley: Bradley has put a couple of decent games together, but was non-existent tonight, scoring 2 points in 22 minutes. Smart, Bradley and Zeller, three Celtics starters, only gave the team 7 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while turning the ball over a combined 7 times.
The Greenlights:
- Since there were very few Celtics highlights, let’s admire John Wall’s 360 layup
The Grid:
- The Wizards only attempted 10 free throws, but made up for it by shooting 50% from the field while holding Boston to 41% shooting.
- The Celtics will get a few days off and a chance to practice with their next game being on Wednesday at home against Sacramento.
- The Wizards have a ridiculously tough Western Conference road trip coming up, facing the Rockets and Mavs on a back to back, and OKC and San Antonio on another back to back before traveling to New Orleans to take on Anthony Davis. It will be interesting to see how one of the top teams in the East does going through the heart of the West.
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