Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 points to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 122-102 victory on Thursday night.
Tatum also contributed to the win with 11 rebounds and six assists. Boston led by as many as 32 points in the second half.
The Celtics went 17-of-45 from 3-point range after tying an NBA record with 29 3-pointers in Tuesday night’s season opener against the New York Knicks. Boston’s Peyton Pritchard made 5 of 10 3-pointers and scored 15 points. Derrick White added 19 points for the Celtics with four 3-pointers.
This 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 made 7 of 36 3-pointers.
Washington’s Alex Sarr, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, had two points and five rebounds in 22 minutes. He made 1 of 7 field goals.
A 12-0 run gave the Wizards a 19-12 lead with 5:56 left in the first quarter, but the Celtics led 33-32 at the 12-minute mark. Poole played eight minutes in the quarter and scored 17 points.
Boston ended the second quarter on a 15-3 run and held a 64-54 advantage at halftime. Tatum had 20 points and nine rebounds in the first half.
The Celtics took control early in the third quarter. Boston scored 16 of the first 20 points in the third set to take an 80-58 lead with 6:39 left in the quarter. Boston defeated Washington 34-19 in the third and led 98-73 entering the fourth.
Sam Hauser did not play for the Celtics due to a back injury. Hauser scored 10 points in Boston’s season opener against the Knicks. Big man Niemias Keta had 12 points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes.
–Field level media
