The Boston Celtics welcomed the Washington Wizards to town on Friday night in what many expected to be a blowout. Washington had won just nine games this season heading into the contest, while Boston has been the best team in the league. However, early struggles made this contest far closer than the Celtics may have liked.
An early outburst from Jordan Poole, who picked apart the Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors, had the Wizards in pole position early on. Sprinkle in some terrible Celtics defense, especially in transition, and the fans at TD Garden had an unexpectedly close game on their hands.
That said, quarter by quarter, the Celtics managed to pull it back to earn a 133-129 victory over the Wizards.