NBA

Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards

· NBA Cup - Group Play
13-3, 8-1 Away
Final
108 - 96

2-12, 1-6 Home

Brown scores 31 points to help the Celtics outlast the Wizards 108-96 for a key NBA Cup victory

Jaylen Brown reflects on meeting Bill Nye: 'He made learning fun'

The Celtics improved to 2-1 in East Group C of this competition with one game remaining. Washington is 0-2 and has lost 10 in a row overall.

The Wizards hung in there in front of a crowd that included recently injured Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Washington trailed by five in the final minute when Brown made a high arcing jumper to make it 99-92 with 46 seconds remaining.

Tatum went 0 for 10 from 3-point range and scored 16 points, although a couple free throws with 11 seconds left enabled him to extend his streak to 55 consecutive games with at least 15 points.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. Neither team shot well from 3-point range, with Boston finishing 11 of 46 and the Wizards going 7 of 28.

Takeaways Celtics: Boston was missing Al Horford because of a non-COVID illness, and with Kristaps Porzingis also out, it fell to players like Luke Kornet to provide size. Kornet had six points and six rebounds without missing a shot from the field.

Wizards: Washington did outscore Boston 52-30 in the paint, but this was a missed opportunity on a night the Celtics weren't at their best.

Key moment Down by six in the fourth, Washington's Kyle Kuzma got himself free but missed a shot from in close. Tatum's jumper at the other end completed a four-point swing that gave the Celtics a 97-89 advantage.

Key stat Only Luka Doncic (84 games entering Friday) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (61) have longer active streaks of scoring 15 points than Tatum.

Up next The Celtics return home to face Minnesota on Sunday. Washington plays at Indiana that same day.

Regular Season Series

BOS leads series 2-0

Matchup Prediction

Wizards: 21.8%
Celtics: 78.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 108 - 96
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 108 - 96
4th 0.0 Wizards offensive team rebound 108 - 96
4th 0.1 Jordan Poole misses driving layup 108 - 96
4th 5.0 Jrue Holiday makes free throw 2 of 2 108 - 96

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bos.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBOS https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH
36-85 FG 39-90
42.4 Field Goal % 43.3
11-46 3PT 7-28
23.9 Three Point % 25.0
25-32 FT 11-16
78.1 Free Throw % 68.8
43 Rebounds 48
10 Offensive Rebounds 10
33 Defensive Rebounds 38
22 Assists 19
11 Steals 6
7 Blocks 4
12 Turnovers 19
0 Team Turnovers 1
12 Total Turnovers 20
2 Technical Fouls 0
2 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
10 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 23
11 Fast Break Points 19
30 Points in Paint 52
19 Fouls 29
12 Largest Lead 11

Game Information

Capital One Arena

Location: Washington, DC
Attendance: 20,385 · Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Boston 22 7 .759 - L1
New York 19 10 .655 3 W4
Brooklyn 11 18 .379 11 L2
Philadelphia 10 17 .370 11 W1
Toronto 7 23 .233 15.5 L8

2024-25 Southeast Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Orlando 19 12 .613 - W2
Miami 14 13 .519 3 W1
Atlanta 15 15 .500 3.5 W1
Charlotte 7 22 .241 11 L5
Washington 4 23 .148 13 L2
Full Standings

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