BOSTON — The Celtics have proven early this season that they can win games without several of their key players. But they ventured into some uncharted territory without Jayson Tatum on Sunday night.
Surely, the seemingly immortal Celtics would struggle even just a little without their MVP frontrunner, right?
Think again.
With Tatum sitting at the end of the bench in regular clothes, the Celtics didn’t miss a beat. In yet another testament to their league-leading offense that’s on a historic trajectory, the C’s showed that their star’s absence wasn’t too much to handle. Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 36 points to pace seven Celtics who finished in double figures as they beat the Wizards, 130-121, at TD Garden in a game much more lopsided than the final score indicated.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 17 points off the bench and Derrick White had 13 as the Celtics improved to 16-4 and offered perhaps their most emphatic example yet this season of how dangerous they are. The Celtics shot 55 percent from the field – their third-best output of the season – and 47.1 percent from 3 and were never truly threatened despite a late Wizards run.
Some takeaways from the win:
– The Celtics led by as many as 26 in the third quarter and by 25 after three quarters as they took a 113-88 advantage into the final period. With another game on Monday night, it was the perfect opportunity for Joe Mazzulla to rest some of his regulars with a lopsided lead, but he ultimately had to put a few of his starters back into the game as the Wizards cut the lead to 12 midway through the fourth.
With 5:52 left in the game, Mazzulla put Brown and Marcus Smart back in the game and the Celtics soon regained control. White hit a 3 to put the C’s back up 15 and Brown’s and-one with 2:04 to go put them up 16 and effectively sealed the victory.
– When they’re both active, at least one of Tatum or Brown is typically on the floor to maximize the unit on the court while the other sits. And when the second unit takes its first shift, it’s usually Tatum who joins the bench players on the floor. But even without Tatum, the Celtics’ second unit that’s been a huge strength this season more than held its own.
From the point when the first batch of bench players – Malcolm Brogdon, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet – checked into the game with about four minutes left in the first quarter, to early in the second quarter, the Celtics went on a 28-14 run to take command of the game. Even without Brown, the Celtics did just fine with a unit of Payton Pritchard, Grant Williams, Brogdon, Hauser and Kornet. Pritchard – who Brown described on Friday as a “microwave” – contributed again with a 3-pointer on his first play.
Without Tatum, the Celtics scored 72 first-half points on 56.5 percent shooting and 47.8 percent from 3 – yet another testament to this group’s absurd depth.
– Luke Kornet’s streak of consecutive made field goals ended at 16 – he previously hadn’t missed a shot since Nov. 11 – when he missed a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, but the backup center still made significant contributions off the bench – on both ends. He finished with 12 points, four rebounds (all offensive) and a pair of blocks in 22 minutes as he continued to show that even when Rob Williams eventually returns, he’s deserving and capable of backup minutes.
