Well, this was the game where the Celtics mostly had their defense going and kept Washington from doing much more than cutting the elad to the high single digits on a couple of runs.
They came out flying, hitting shots, locked in on D, and looking excellent in the first, which they won 34-15. In the second quarter they built their lead up to 24 before letting some sloppiness settle into their game and allowing Washington to close to within 11 at the half, winning the quarter 32-24. The offensive in the firs thalf was mostly Brown (21) and Tatum (18).
The third quarter was back and forth for a while, Celtics adding one point to their lead in the first 7.5 minutes. Then Brogdon basically took over. The Celtics went on a 9-4 2 minute run where Brogdon scored all 9 for them, upping the Celtic lead to 17. Brogdon also assisted on a Hauser three before the quarter ended and the Celtics took a 19 point lead into the 4th.
They never closed to within 20 in the 4th (until the garbage time end) and Mazzulla yarked the starters and Brogdon with 5 minutes to go. FInal score 112-94, the firs time this season that the Celtics have held an opponent below 100.
Brown was the game's high scorer with 24 points (and 10 rebounds) in 30 minutes. Tatum added 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in 27 minutes.
The next most notable Celtic tonight was Brogdon, who had his Celtic high of 23 points in 23 minutes. And more than the points, he just broke the game open for the Celtics late in the third. He shot 6-12 from the field, 3-5 from three, and a perfect 8-8 from the line. He had his drive and ctahc and shoot working for him tonight. When he broke the game open by scoring 9 straight Celtic points, it began with him getting foulded on drives and ended with a ctahc and shoot three. He also added 4 assists, second on the team after Smart.
Marcus is still shooting poorly, 2-6, and 1-5 from three, but he led the team with 6 assists, added 3 rebounds and 2 steals, and did not turn it over.
Horford and White had quiet games, each playing 24 minutes.
Grant was back and scored 10 points along with 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and did not turn it over, although he played in garbage time and some of his stats are from that. Grant's passing looks improved this year.
Luke Kornet was the first big off the bench, and he had another decent game. In 19 minutes, he had 3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 turnovers - at least one of those was an offensive foul setting a screen. He scored his 3 points in the fourth quarter on - and I am not making this up - a sidestep three! Brogdon drove, kicked it out to Kornet in the corner, a Wizard player closed out, and Kornet calmly took a dribble, stepped to the side, and buried a three. He also did his "jump to contest from 15 feet away" thing a couple of times, and, as dumb as it looks, the one guy who shot "over" him missed. On the negative side, there
is a real timidness to his game sometimes - Scal called him out for his unwillingness to go up strong when he gets the ball under the basket. In one respect - and one respect only - he reminds me of Rob. When he gets the ball under the basket with a defender on him, he immediately passes it out. All in all, I like the guy. I mean, he is what he is - a replacement level NBA big - but he seems like one who can fit in here and help bridge the gap to Rob. He does need to learn to get after it more. Speaking of which...
Sam Hauser is a guy who is starting to get after it more. He shot 3-5 from three in 23 minutes, including garbage time, scoring 9 points. I think the threes he hit were all of the catch and shoot variety, while the two he missed were ones he dribbled or stepped into. I don't think I've seen him hit a non-catch-and-shoot three all year. But in addition to his threes, he also had 5 rebounds (third on the team behind Brown and Al), 2 assists, a steal, and a block. He puts effort in on D and on the glass. Back in the preseason, he had a couple of good games where Brogdon was feeding him catch and shoot opportinities and he was burying them. I mention that because he often plays with Brogdon and Brogdon has no hesitation whatsoever about getting him the ball. His first 3, which he missed, was in transition where Brogdon was a little too eager to get him the ball - got it to him where he had to take a step before launching, and he missed. Anyway, he's acclimating to the league and earning his minutes.
This is not great, BTW, and maybe explains why we are not seeing Marcus at his best so far:
View: https://twitter.com/John_Karalis/status/1586882950456647681?s=20&t=_-rJ1J3k1ZGM_YE5ggI21Q
John Karalis:
Asked Marcus Smart how he's feeling physically.. he smiled and said he's ok "for the most part." Says the slip in Montreal aggravated his past oblique and hip issue