Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum sharp again, Celtics beat Wizards

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 25 points to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 122-102 win over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Tatum also had 11 rebounds and six assists in the win. Boston led by 32 points in the second half.

The Celtics were 17-of-45 from behind the 3-point arc after setting an NBA record by making 29 3-pointers in a season-opening win against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. Boston’s Peyton Pritchard connected on five of his 10 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points. Derrick White made four 3-pointers and added 19 points for the Celtics.

It was the season opener for Washington, which got a team-high 26 points from Jordan Poole. Jonas Valanciunas (18) and Kyle Kuzma (12) also scored in double figures for the Wizards, who were 7 of 36 on 3-point attempts.

Washington’s Alex Saar, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, finished the game with two points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. He shot 1 of 7 from the field.

A 12–0 run gave the Wizards a 19–12 lead with 5:56 left in the first quarter, but the Celtics took a 33–32 lead after 12 minutes. Poole played eight minutes in the quarter and scored 17 points.

Boston finished the second quarter on a 15–3 run to take a 64–54 lead at halftime. Tatum had 20 points and nine rebounds in the half.

The Celtics took control early in the third quarter. Boston scored 16 of the first 20 points in the third and increased its lead to 80–58 with 6:39 remaining in the quarter. Boston outscored Washington 34–19 in the third and led 98–73 in the fourth.

Sam Hower did not play for the Celtics due to lower back pain. Hauser scored 10 points in Boston’s opener against the Knicks. Big man Neemias Queta stepped up with 12 points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes.

–Field Level Media