The Washington Wizards traveled to Boston to face the Celtics on Saturday in the final game of a three-game road trip. Behind a sluggish second quarter and poor interior defense, the Wizards fell, 111-100.
Boston opened a 20-11 lead thanks to a flurry of Neemias Queta layups. But Tristan Vukcevic answered with a trio of 3-pointers in less than two minutes to tie the game at 20. Washington’s bench outscored Boston’s bench 16-3 in the opening frame to enter the second quarter trailing 29-27.
The second
quarter was dominated by the Celtics, who opened on a 19-2 scoring run to take a 19-point lead. Washington scored just two points over the first 7:28 of the frame as Boston locked in on the defensive end. Trae Young added a few late buckets, but the Wizards entered halftime trailing 64-41.
Young connected with Bilal Coulibaly on a half-court lob and Will Riley added a few baskets in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to trim the deficit. Boston opened a 30-point lead halfway through the frame and looked poised for a dominant win.
Jaden Hardy scored 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting to pull the Wizards within 12 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Celtics pulled away.
The loss marked Washington’s 11th straight defeat and dropped the team to 16-50. Young finished with 11 points and six assists. Vukcevic led all Wizards with a season-high 22 points.
