It was a good first experience in the inaugural NBA play-in tournament for the Boston Celtics.
They have Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker to thank for that. The two sparked the Celtics as Boston handled the scorching-hot Washington Wizards, 118-100, Tuesday night at TD Garden. With the win, the Celtics stake claim to the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed and will face the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the playoffs, which begins Saturday (8 p.m.).
Here’s five thoughts on the Celtics picking up a win to move on to the playoffs:
Tatum and Kemba take over
Tatum delivered another one of his torrid scoring stretches to start the second half and he received some assistance this time from Walker. Tatum and Walker caught fire in the opening minutes of the third quarter, owning a 22-4 Celtics run in which they combined for all of the points in the tear. Tatum and Walker accounted for 32 of Boston’s 38 third-quarter points.
Tatum finished the game with 50 points on 14-of-32 shooting in 41 minutes while Walker backed him with 29 points, including making six 3-pointers.
"I just knew I had to be aggressive and just do what I can to help the team win, but Jayson was special, man," Walker said. "He was unbelievable. It ain't new to me. I've been watching this guy put in this kind of work over the last year or so. I'm here for the ride. It's always exciting to see him go off the way he go off. We're going to need that throughout this whole run."
Tatum and Walker seized control right after halftime. Walker drilled three 3-pointers during the spurt and after the last one he hit, he added a shimmy in celebration to show he was feeling it.
"I was just having fun," Walker said. "That was my third three. Just a little something. That's just who I am. I haven't been doing it much. I haven't had many reasons to do it, to be honest. I thought tonight was a pretty good reason to do it. It felt good."
Tatum, who went 5-for-15 in the first half, found his shooting stroke as well, hitting turnaround fadeaway jumpers and burying a pair of treys in the third quarter to put Boston in front by double digits.
Tatum stayed red-hot throughout the stanza, scoring 23 points in the frame, but what has become a staple in his high-scoring performances is Tatum's aggressiveness that allows him to get to the free-throw line consistently. He lived there at times versus the Wizards as he made all 17 of his free-throw attempts.
"I just wanted to be aggressive," Tatum said. "We got them in the bonus early in a couple of those quarters. Once I seen that, just try to put the pressure on the defense and the refs."
Stars not as bright
The Celtics star duo outdueled Washington’s stellar tandem in Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal.
Beal, who wasn’t at 100 percent as he played through a left hamstring strain, recovered after a slow start to net 22 points on 10-of-25 shooting. Westbrook’s performance was puzzling as even though he posted 20 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, he lacked his trademark aggressiveness.
The Celtics defended Westbrook with bigger bodies which prevented him from driving easily to the basket and caused his offensive game to not reflect his usual attacking style.
Not much of TimeLord
The Celtics couldn’t escape the contest without an injury as Rob Williams’ turf toe forced him from the game early in the third quarter. Williams re-aggravated the injury -- Brad Stevens said he hyperextended his toe -- in the final minute of the second quarter when he landed on Tatum’s heel after coming over to contest a shot attempt by Westbrook.
Williams, who was on his way to making an impact in his 14 minutes as he scored 4 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and blocked a shot, tried to push through the ailment to start the second half, but was clearly hobbled and left the game just over a minute into the third quarter.
"He felt it pretty good," Stevens said. "He tried to come back and play. Just get treatment and we'll see what happens. Not enjoyable (injury)."
Williams’ absence put much stress on Boston’s lack of depth at the center position, and the Celtics stuck almost exclusively with Tristan Thompson at the five spot. Thompson stepped up in a big way in 30 minutes as he notched a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
"I prepare myself for these moments all season long," Thompson said. "It's the next man up mentality. Whatever coach needs me to do. I've mentally prepared and physically prepared myself for these minutes. So, I'm ready."
Second quarter nightmare
The Celtics slept walked through the second quarter and it seemed like it would prove costly. Boston’s offense became sluggish as Tatum struggled to generate offense for himself and those around him.
Boston hit just 7-of-24 shots in the frame and went 0-for-12 from beyond the arc as its first-quarter lead disappeared.
"I thought we got stagnate," Stevens said. "I hope we move it a little bit more than we did even tonight when we move on. Again, Rob's a big part of that, so hopefully we'll get him healthy."
Trusting the young guys
Even though they are inexperienced, both Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford made it into Brad Stevens’ shortened rotation, a situation which didn’t seem likely a couple months ago when the rookie and second-year player spent most of their time watching from the bench.
They both found ways to contribute as Nesmith continued to hustle all over the floor in his 14 minutes while also knocking down a trey off a nifty passing sequence and blocking a 3-point attempt from Garrison Matthews.
Langford also played 14 minutes, more than half of that coming in the fourth quarter, scoring 3 points and grabbing 4 rebounds as his length helped him defend Washington’s quick guards.
"It's a lot easier to be good when you're surrounded by our best players. It's just easier to play a role," Stevens said. "I thought Romeo played his role well. I thought Aaron did some good things. Romeo's big and long and can challenge shots and guard the best players, it's why you keep throwing him in there even as he's struggling and coming back from the injury and coming back from COVID."
The Link LonkMay 19, 2021 at 06:48PM
https://www.providencejournal.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2021/05/19/5-thoughts-celtics-play-win-over-red-hot-wizards/5161354001/
5 thoughts on Celtics' play-in win over red-hot Wizards - The Providence Journal
https://news.google.com/search?q=Red&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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