There were no surprises on Sunday in Washington, where the Wizards confirmed their status as the worst home team in the league (and the NBA), while the Celtics became the first team this season to earn a tenth away victory.
The opposition very quickly shifted in favor of the C's. Washington in fact held out for ten minutes, well launched by Bilal Coulibaly's 3/3 3-pointer before completely sinking between the end of the first act and the start of the second.
While the score was 21-21, the Wizards suffered a terrible 18-2, initiated and concluded by a 3-pointer from Derrick White (23-39). The exit of Kristaps Porzingis, injured in the ankle, did not really complicate the Celtics' task. Jordan Poole's two baskets, Justin Champagnie's dunk on a good pass from Alexandre Sarr and Carlton Carrington's two 3-point baskets barely saved appearances before the break (52-67).
Returning from the locker room, Bilal Coulibaly's dunk briefly reduced the gap to -10 (61-71), triggering the anger of the Celtics who responded with big 3-point shots, first by Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser , then by Payton Pritchard twice and finally Jaylen Brown (69-85). Joe Mazzulla's men didn't really have to use violence afterwards to preserve the gap.
After a sluggish start to the last act, at 0/6 shooting, Boston was able to secure thanks to 9 points from Jayson Tatum then the two final 3-point baskets from Sam Hauser and Derrick White to secure the victory, 112 to 98.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– 3 out of 3 for the Celtics. Boston has become comfortable in Washington with already three victories at the Capital One Arena this season, 122-102 during its first trip of the season, 108-96 a month later and 112-98 last night, in a new match perfectly managed. Serious, diligent and skillful from a distance (18/46), the Celtics knew how to make the match easier as the big teams know how to do against the weakest teams in the league.
– Kristaps Porzingis injured in the ankle. The Boston interior made his return to his previous franchise and seemed determined to shine on his old floor with a strong start to the match at 5/6 shooting before twisting his ankle while falling on an alley-oop sent by Payton Pritchard to move his team to +21 (35-56). He quickly left then, replaced by Luke Kornet, and did not return to the game after that, probably given the gap between the two teams. We will still wait for news from Boston to ensure that it is nothing serious.
– The spark Bilal Coulibaly. On his momentum, the French rear delivered a full match. Above all, he was one of the few to survive between his 3/3 3-point entry and his good passage in the third quarter, where he maintained a semblance of suspense almost single-handedly to finish at 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Alexandre Sarr was less visible, the fault of a difficult start with three personal errors conceded in the first quarter. 14 points and 6 rebounds in 28 minutes at the finish but above all too much clumsiness, at 6/18 shooting.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
