Kristaps Porzingis Hurt as Celtics Thwart Another Fast-Pace Wizards Effort

WASHINGTON — Nobody would describe Celtics-Wizards — an added meeting before one more in April thanks to NBA Cup re-scheduling — as a test for Boston. The Celtics used it as a targeted rest night for Al Horford despite two days off before and three after it.

They rolled, 112-98, but saw Washington again attempt to play a style that could challenge the Celtics against a different opponent. When the Wizards executed it, pacing and spacing, they stole several runs to stay in the game into the third quarter.

“I thought it was good to have two 25-point (defensive) quarters against them,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Our turnovers were low until the last few minutes of the game where we got to 18, and then we had 16 offensive rebounds. So I thought we controlled the pace with our rebounding, with our ball security throughout the game and getting to the free throw line slows down the game a little bit, but we also found opportunities to run. I thought we were the faster playing team in the first half.”

The third game in Washington in three months started similarly to the first two. The Wizards took a 7-2, then 16-10 lead while shooting 6-of-7 from the field. While Brian Keefe expected a different game due to the change in personnel on both sides, Kyle Kuzma, Corey Kispert and Malcolm Brogdon, among others, missing for Washington, their speed and shooting sparked an early advantage before three turnovers cost them the lead quickly.

Still, they sat tied 21-21 nearly 10 minutes in the opening frame. Then, the Celtics forced them to miss seven of their last eight shots while Tatum shook off five straight missed jump shots to close the quarter with a pair of finishes inside and his first pull-up three that fell on the fourth try. Boston rode a 10-0 closing run to a 34-23 edge entering the second.

“I think that’s something we’re learning, the mental stamina to do that. That’s a growth too … for us, we want to play a certain way,” Keefe said. “Can we do that for longer and better? We’ve shown stretches where we can do that this year. I would say recently we’ve been better with that, but we want to be able to string more minutes doing the way we want to play.”

In October, Washington held a lead 10 minutes into the game and briefly led in the second quarter before falling behind by 32 points. They held a 20-19 advantage over nine minutes into their November matchup before Brogdon powered them ahead by seven points into the second, leading by as many as 11 before Boston regained control in the third quarter and secured a 108-96 win. Mazzulla applauded Washington’s speed and athleticism after the first game, calling them a good team, though they went on to lose 20 of their first 23 games, unable to sustain their style.

Pace-and-space hurt the Celtics more last Saturday when combined with the experience, size and talent on the Grizzlies. When the Pacers wanted to play fast against Boston in May’s east finals, the Celtics embraced it, but nearly lost Game 1 before defeating Indiana 4-0 in one of the closest sweeps you’ll see. Memphis outscored Boston, 22-4, in fast break points in the win. The Celtics entered the game tied for 10th in transition offense and climbed back to sixth in transition defense, but have been outscored, 14.6-13.6 per night, in fast break points.

“It makes us have to run faster. It makes us have to rebound better to slow the game down,” Mazzulla said pre-game. “Rebounding at both ends, offensive rebounding slows it down, limiting (opponents) to one shot slows it down, switching and individual defense slows it down. So I think just continuing to hammer those things that dictate the pace of the game. At the same time, we don’t want to bring it to a halt. We want to play with pace as well. So it’s just having a balance … not turning it over, forcing turnovers. Those things can control the pace of the game. You look at the Memphis game, people see the 41 points in transition, but every turnover we had was live ball. You can’t guard those.”

Boston turned it over 12 times into the third quarter on Sunday as the Wizards slashed a 21-point lead to nine. Payton Pritchard responded with a pair of threes, providing the team’s three-point shooting alongside Sam Hauser in the latter’s return from an adductor strain while Jaylen Brown and Tatum started 3-of-11 from three. The Wizards kept pace with their attempts (46-40), but also matched Boston’s turnovers (18-16).

An early edge allowed Mazzulla to get another look at the Celtics’ three-guard lineup with Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Pritchard alongside Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis in the second quarter. They entered the game narrowly outscored by opponents by 1.9 points per 100 possessions with a surprising 109 offensive rating in 68 minutes as a trio this season. They lost a brief stretch, 11-7, before Porzingis exited the game with a right heel injury that he did not return from.

Luke Kornet logged the first seven minutes of the second half, where the Wizards cut three points off a 15-point halftime deficit before Neemias Queta took over, holding Washington to 1-of-8 shooting with a pair of turnovers to finish the frame up 19. Kornet closed +20 with seven points, 11 rebounds and four assists, drawing praise from Mazzulla after for his ability to manage an inconsistent role with greater physicality this year.

While Boston minimized the Wizards’ fast break points, 12-8, to maintain a double-digit until late in the third, Washington went to the basket with Porzingis out in the second half and won the start of the fourth, 16-12. They won the points in the paint battle, 52-40. It did little to bridge the talent gap though, as both sides emptied their benches with over two minutes remaining and Boston ahead by 21.

“Always trying to take good shots, even when the pace is high,” Pritchard said. “You never want to force it, and obviously you just gotta be aware they shoot a lot of sometimes crazy shots, but they’re capable of hitting them, so you gotta just pick up your pick-up points and force them into tougher shots.”

• Porzingis’ exit followed comments before Thursday’s game against Detroit about how he escaped a left ankle tweak to the same leg he underwent surgery on in June. He said the Celtics’ medical staff didn’t fear re-injury, as they let him play the second half following a brief stint in the locker room before halftime. This ailment to the opposite side led Boston’s training staff to quickly join him on his way to the back. Porzingis called his removal precautionary after he banged his heel on either a rebound, post-up or alley-oop in the first quarter.
  “I kept on playing, it was nothing major honestly,” Porzingis said. “Then in the second, when I started, it was pretty sensitive, so I told the medical staff and they just pulled me out of the game … I’ve had something similar in the past and I know it’s something I can play through … I think I should be fine for next game, but we’ll see. We’ll take it game-by-game.”
• Hauser, who went through Friday’s practice in full, returned from missing only one game with an adductor strain thanks to an extended layoff for Boston due to the NBA Cup. They’ll now practice on Tuesday before Milwaukee and Oklahoma City meet for the tournament’s finale in Vegas before starting a home-and-home with Chicago on Thursday as the schedule ramps-up again. Hauser shot 4-of-9 from three in 28 minutes in his first game back.
  “It’s more about his consistency,” Mazzulla said. “Anytime he’s in the game, you know what you’re getting. You’re getting solid individual defense, you’re getting execution and you’re getting a three-point threat, but he can do other things as well with his passing and putting two on the ball. It’s a credit to him for the consistency he shows when he’s out there. You know exactly what you’re getting.”
• Washington lost its third straight game after a home upset over Denver ended their 16-game losing streak that lasted the entire month of November. They drew Cleveland alongside Boston in their re-scheduled games outside of the Cup, which Keefe appreciated despite the added losses.
• Jordan Walsh joined the team in Washington despite Drew Peterson and JD Davison returning to Maine for a loss against Toronto’s affiliate earlier on Sunday. Walsh had played last week after asking to on an off day for Boston and suffered a rib bruise that nearly knocked him out of the ensuing NBA Celtics game against the Pistons. He played through it, which drew praise from Mazzulla at practice on Friday, telling Walsh that it’s important that he plays through pain because veterans like Brown and Tatum don’t have a choice when games matter.
  “It was a toughness test,” Walsh told CLNS Media on Sunday. “One of the things he said was JT and JB, they have to play, even if they’re not feeling their best, they gotta go out give them whatever and do the best they can … it just made me respect the guys more, because even playing, I’ll be tired sometimes and it’s like these guys played a whole game with injury, with sickness … if I had a chance of playing, I would for sure be able to play if they called my name … I had thought about it maybe being too much, then I thought, if I can’t play through this, what am I as a basketball player? I felt like I had to respect the game.”
• Walsh and Mazzulla don’t share many of those conversations, he said, but they’re usually motivational when they do happen: “Most of the time, it’s either him saying he’s gonna f***ing punch me in my chest, or good job, or you suck. It’s always one of those three.”
• Payton Pritchard told CLNS he’s nearing an official agreement with Jaylen Brown’s 741 Performance after wearing Brown’s first sneaker to begin the season. Pritchard also shared frustration in being considered a defensive liability after the game, saying he’s stressed defensive improvement and will try to take more charges as the next step.