The Boston Celtics didn’t have too jolly of a Christmas evening on Monday.
In their first matchup against the Washington Wizards since the contentious Eastern Conference Semifinals last season, Boston dropped the Christmas Day tilt 111-103 at TD Garden.
The Celtics struggled to string together enough quality possessions to overtake the Wizards, who sat in the driver’s seat most of the night. Boston had its hands full with Wizards guards Bradley Beal and John Wall, who dropped 25 and 21 points, respectively.
Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring with 20 points. Terry Rozier (16), Al Horford (12), Daniel Theis (12) and Marcus Smart (10) also scored in double figures.
The Celtics fell to 27-10 with the loss, while the Wizards climbed to 19-15.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
TURNOVERS CAUSE SLOW START
The Celtics didn’t do themselves many favors to start the game, turning the ball over four times in the first, allowing Washington to finish the frame with a 30-24 lead.
Shooting was an issue, with each Celtics player visibly struggling to find a rhythm. Because of shots not falling, most Celtics kept putting up less-than-ideal shots in hopes of building some offensive momentum. But as they kept missing, shot selection continued to get worse out of desperation.
Irving did, however, start to find his shot as the frame drew on, posting a team-high eight points by quarter’s end.
Marcus Morris made his first appearance in eight games after nursing a knee injury.
BENCH HELPS KEEP BOSTON IN ARM’S REACH
Boston began to fight back after the Wizards set the tempo in the first quarter. The Celtics took their first lead of the game in the final minute of the second.
Meanwhile, Boston continued to struggle with turnovers, turning the ball over five additional times in the quarter. Smart was the biggest culprit, turning the ball over three times alone, mainly off of careless passes.
With few players for Boston really taking control of the game, the bench became a huge contributing factor. Led Rozier with seven points, the C’s finished the half with 21 points off the bench, while trailing by just two.
WIZARDS START SECOND HALF HOT
Washington quickly opened up a 13-4 run over three minutes to begin the third. But after some timely shooting, the Celtics began to cut down a lead that grew to as big as 11 in the quarter.
The Celtics went scoreless in five consecutive possessions toward the end of the frame and never were able to secure a consistent enough run to build momentum and retake control. But they did just enough, however, to keep themselves close enough to strike.
Rozier finished the quarter by hitting a 3-pointer to bring the Celtics within four, and the bucket was a visible momentum-builder heading into the final frame.
EARLY BURST FROM BOSTON SQUANDERED
The Celtics again kept chipping and chipping in the fourth quarter. And with the game knotted at 89, things finally felt like they were beginning to swing into Boston’s favor upon Rozier hitting a 3-pointer with 7:18 to play, giving the Celtics a 92-89 lead.
But the lead didn’t hold for long.
Kelly Oubre Jr. pulled the Wizards within one with 5:16 to play, and then hit a 3-pointer to give Washington a 97-95 lead at 4:34. Once Oubre hit the 3-pointer, Washington didn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the game.
The Celtics battled back after falling down by nine in the final two minutes, but their efforts were unfruitful by game’s end.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT
Rozier has put together a pretty nice dunking highlight reel this season.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will hit the road and take on the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night. Tip from Spectrum Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
