Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 36 points and Jayson Tatum finished with 33 to help the visiting Boston Celtics breeze to a 126-107 victory over the Washington Wizards on Monday night.
Brown made 8 of 13 3-point attempts. His eighth 3-pointer came with 10:10 remaining in the third quarter, and he and the rest of the Boston starters sat out the fourth quarter.
Kristaps Porzingis, who played for Washington last season, added 15 points for the Celtics, who led 100-68 with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. Boston was up 108-75 entering the final period.
Kyle Kuzma led Washington with 21 points. Eugene Omoruyi added 14 points for the Wizards, who received 11-point performances from Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija and Tyus Jones. Avdija also had a team-high seven rebounds.
Washington trailed by 37 points at one point in the second half but outscored Boston 26-9 at the start of the fourth quarter to slice the deficit to 117-101.
Boston took control of the game early. The Celtics made 10 of their first 12 shots from the field and led 37-11 following a Brown 3-pointer with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter. Boston had a 42-19 lead after one period and a 77-51 advantage at halftime. The Wizards trailed by as many as 34 points in the second quarter.
Brown scored 27 points in the first half, when he made 7 of 10 3-point attempts. Boston sank 19 3-pointers in the win.
Washington's Bilal Coulibaly made the first start of his NBA career and scored nine points in 28 minutes. The Indiana Pacers took Coulibaly with the seventh pick in the 2023 draft but traded his rights to Washington as part of a three-team deal.
The Wizards played without center Daniel Gafford, who injured his left ankle during Washington's victory over Memphis on Saturday. In his absence, the Celtics had a 51-40 rebounding advantage, led by Sam Hauser with eight boards.
Washington shot 18 of 26 from the free-throw line. Boston was 5 of 7.
—Field Level Media