National Basketball Association
Boston 133, Washington 129
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, February 9, 2024
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #83 Andy Nagy, #12 CJ Washington, #29 Mark Lindsay
Attendance: 19156

Jayson Tatum tossed in a game-high 35 points and Kristaps Porzingis finished with 34 to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Washington Wizards 133-129 on Friday.

Boston trailed by seven at halftime but took control by outscoring Washington 36-16 in the third quarter, when Porzingis scored 14 points and Tatum had 13. Tatum also contributed 10 rebounds and eight assists in the win, while Porzingis went 14-for-14 from the free-throw line and grabbed 11 boards.

The Wizards trailed by four with 51.4 seconds left, but Porzingis extended the lead to six by making a jump shot with 30.7 seconds to play.

The victory extended Boston's winning streak to three games and improved the Celtics' home record to 25-3.

Deni Avdija and Corey Kispert each scored 24 points for the Wizards, who have lost five in a row. Avdija added 11 rebounds. Washington received 21 points from Bilal Coulibaly and 19 from Jordan Poole. The Wizards connected on 20 of their 47 3-point attempts (42.6 percent).

Jrue Holiday made nine of his 13 field-goal attempts and wound up with 20 points for the Celtics, who had a 62-42 advantage in points in the paint.

Although Boston's Payton Pritchard made a 50-foot shot at the first-quarter buzzer, Washington held a 35-31 lead after the first 12 minutes. The Wizards scored 18 fastbreak points in the quarter.

The Celtics had a 62-57 lead late in the second quarter, but the Wizards ended the quarter on a 14-2 run and had a 71-64 halftime lead. Kuzma put Washington in front 65-64 by making a 3-pointer with 57.1 seconds remaining in the half before Poole and Avdija each added a 3-pointer.

Boston used a 13-2 run in the third quarter to build a 97-85 advantage, and Tatum capped the third-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics a 100-87 advantage entering the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Washington   Boston
Deni Avdija 24 Scoring Jayson Tatum 35
Tyus Jones 9 Assists Jayson Tatum 8
Deni Avdija 11 Rebounds Kristaps Porzingis 11
Deni Avdija 7 Free Throws Made Kristaps Porzingis 14
Corey Kispert 3 Steals Derrick White 3
Tyus Jones 1 Blocks Jayson Tatum 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Washington 129 47.4 20-47 19-21 32 39 1 8 12
Boston 133 52.2 11-34 26-28 25 49 5 9 13
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Celtics have a W/L % of .725 after a win and .917 after a loss.
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Philadelphia. The Wizards have a W/L % of .111 after a win and .190 after a loss.