Three Studs, Three Duds As Celtics Fend Off Wizards In NBA Cup Win

The Boston Celtics arrived in the nation’s capital, first for a visit to the White House and then for a matchup against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.

Both stops were a success. United States President Joe Biden honored the reigning NBA champions Thursday and 24 hours later, the Celtics outlasted the Wizards on their strawberry-red court to earn a 108-96 victory — Boston’s fourth straight win. It wasn’t easy as the trend of nail-biting contests that took place against the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers in the first two group play games continued in Washington.

The Celtics improved to 12-3 and 2-1 in NBA Cup contests.

Here are three studs and three duds:

STUDS
Jaylen Brown
There wasn’t a whole lot of offensive efficiency, and even while shooting 3-for-13 from 3-point range, Brown did everything to keep Boston competitive. Brown scored a game-leading 31 points for the Celtics and grabbed 11 rebounds to secure a double-double — Brown’s third this season. The reigning NBA Finals MVP capped off his performance with a sensational fadeaway jumper to put Boston ahead, 99-92, with 46.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Brown also notched his fourth career 30-point, 10-rebound and five-assist showing.

Malcolm Brogdon
For the first time since being traded from the Celtics to the Portland Trail Blazers two offseasons ago, Brogdon got to face his old Boston teammates. Brogdon made the start and recorded a double-double of his own, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Luke Kornet
The absence of Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford was a glaring factor, therefore, frontcourt contributions were extremely critical. Kornet provided an efficient 24 minutes off the bench to help fill that void, scoring six points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field with six rebounds (three offensive), a steal and a block to earn a plus-15 rating.

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DUDS
Boston’s first-half defense
The Celtics allowed the Wizards to collect four consecutive offensive rebounds with the score knotted up at 29-29 in the second quarter. Boston struggled to separate itself from that point to the halftime buzzer as Washington, a team ranking 26th in the league in effective field-goal percentage, shot 20-of-46 (43.5%) from the floor with 24 points in the paint in the first half. The stagnant defensive tempo, which prompted head coach Joe Mazzulla to call multiple timeouts, backfired entering the third quarter.

Jayson Tatum’s 3-point touch
More often than not, Tatum’s shooting from beyond the arc is reliable. But just like anyone else in the league, Tatum is due for an off night here and there, which came to life in Washington on a handful of inopportune moments. The Celtics did everything they could to attack the basket, draw defenders and create openings for Tatum, but the five-time All-Star couldn’t connect from long range. He finished 0-for-10 from downtown and 6-for-19 in total, walking away with 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

Neemias Queta
The struggles of Queta continued as Boston’s developmental project couldn’t get going on either side of the court. Queta made his fifth start of the season and shot just 1-for-3 with seven points and two rebounds, leaving Mazzulla no choice but to rely more on a combination of Kornet and Xavier Tillman Sr. off the bench.