The Celtics’ fourth straight win looked like it would be easy in the third quarter. It looked threatened in the middle of the fourth quarter. But Boston held on to the 116-107 victory Friday at TD Garden.
The Celtics looked like they would roll in the lead 81-54 with 6:38 to the end of the third. The Wizards, who arrived with two wins in eight games, showed very little fighting to that point. But when Boston started to decline, Washington started to chip.
They cut all the way to 96-81 at the end of the third and then saw an opportunity. This wave did not wake the sleeping Celtics. The Wizards opened the room with a 14-3 run and trailed Boston, 99-95, forcing a Celtics timeout at 7:34 left.
Payton Pritchard slowed the avalanche with a 3 point that pushed Boston back to 102-95. Marcus Smart followed with two free throws and Tacko Fall grabbed a lost ball and dived to make it 106-95 to give the home team a little breathing space.
But Davis Bertans’ pair of 3 points made the game tight again at 106-101, with just over three minutes remaining.
After Jayson Tatum’s 3-point attempt circled the ring twice and left, Jaylen Brown made a 3 with 2:08 remaining, extending the Celtics lead to 109-101, which took the wind off Washington’s recovery.
Tatum was good early and late for the Celtics. He finished with 32 points. Brown added 27 and caught 12 rebounds for the Celtics (7-3).
Bradley Beal arrived from a 60-point game on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. He was not so prolific on Friday, but he scored 41 points, giving him 101 in two games.
Boston remains at TD Garden on Sunday for a 7 pm game against Heat, a rematch for Wednesday’s game in Miami.
Boston was without Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams and Grant Williams, who were all out due to the NBA Health and Safety Protocols, which is the league’s designation for any COVID-19 related issues. For privacy reasons, the Celtics and the NBA cannot go into detail about the specifics of each player. His absence meant that Brad Stevens had to deal with minutes and confrontation with only two great men Daniel Theis and Tacko Fall reserve rarely used.
It seemed a little risky when Theis made two quick fouls, but the wizards didn’t have big men to take advantage of.
Tatum and Beal were both hot in the first quarter, creating a fun heads-up match early on, with the Celtics leading 33-28. Both players scored 14 points in the first 12 minutes with similar stats lines. Both players scored 6 out of 9 on the field. Tatum hit his two strokes of 3, while Beals hit 1 to 2 on the 3-point line and the free-throw line.
Boston controlled the second quarter behind, with Jaylen Brown resuming where Tatum left off, with 13 points in the second. The Wizards hit 8 out of 22 on the field with the Celtics extending their lead to 66-47 at halftime.
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