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The Boston Celtics shared the ball, took advantage of turnovers, were efficient and looked like the team to beat in the East on their way to their 10th consecutive victory, defeating the Washington Wizards 140-133 and overcoming a 44-point effort from star guard Bradley Beal.
Jayson Tatum took over in the first quarter, Carsen Edwards played well in the second quarter, Jaylen Brown dominated in the second half and Kemba Walker made his impact felt offensively throughout the game as the quarter combined to score 88 points, with each of Tatum, Brown and Walker breaking the 20-point mark.
Staying true to the players they’ve been this season, Tatum focused on scoring outside the lane while Brown attacked the rim and Walker let loose from outside. In fact, Walker knocked down 6-12 threes on Wednesday after entering the game shooting a career-high 43.7% from three, his efficiency from outside only matched by Edwards (4-5 from three) and Marcus Smart (4-8 from three) on the Celtics’ side.
Edwards’ career-high 18 points was nice to see, as he went scoreless last game and entered the contest averaging just 4.0 points per game. For a player who torched opponents to the tune of 24.3 points per game at Purdue in his third and final season before averaging 15.3 points per game in the preseason, his performance through the season has been underwhelming.
However, Edwards played light a bolt of lightning against Washington, racing down the court and making play after play.
The Celtics were unable to bottle up Beal, rookie forward Rui Hachimura (21 points on 9-12 shooting) or even Isaiah Thomas (18 points on 7-14), the latter of which who hit a three before the half to cut Boston’s lead down to two.
A game that plenty of runs, the game wasn’t out of reach for the Wizards until the final seconds, with Walker hitting a clutch three to put the Celtics up 140-133.