WASHINGTON — A string of third quarter mistakes cost the Celtics on what should’ve been a layup.
Malcolm Brogdon missed the look at the rim, fouling Delon Wright in the back court after with the Celtics down by 20 points and over the foul limit. Derrick White nearly threw a pass to Wright two possessions later, then Robert Williams III tossed one out-of-bounds attempting a handoff play. Kendrick Nunn hit a shot in the lane, Jayson Tatum committed an offensive foul and the Celtics trailed by 23 before the fourth quarter.
Minutes later, Joe Mazzulla called it. The Wizards beat Boston 130-111 without Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Daniel Gafford. The setback likely cost the Celtics one game of ground in the race for the No. 1 seed if Milwaukee handles Indiana on Wednesday, meaning Boston’s stunning loss at Washington might’ve effectively lost them the race. They play the Bucks in Milwaukee on Thursday with the No. 1 seed on the line.
“You’ve gotta be honest with yourself,” Tatum said, reacting to Mazzulla’s hook. “We weren’t playing well, it was one of those nights, and you’ve gotta take it on the chin. You never want to have these moments, but somehow, someway they tend to happen throughout the course of 82 games. They count as one, whether it was right now or in December. It’s still a loss, and honestly, you’ve gotta move on from it.”
That sentiment echoed across Boston’s locker room. A rocky arrival through poor weather late Tuesday night before one team bus arrived late due to traffic Jaylen Brown mentioned after the game. Mazzulla called these kinds of losses rare for the Celtics, pointing out poor pickup points defensively following Boston’s many misses. Al Horford started 0-for-5 from three as the Celtics struggled to convert following solid early passing. Monté Morris pushed the pace following those misses, and makes, putting Boston behind early.
Kristaps Porzingis forced Williams III to the perimeter, forcing Mazzulla away from an early double-big lineup and keeping the big man’s minutes away from Porzingis’. That led to only 15 Williams III minutes and 0 shot attempts on a night where Washington won the rebounding battle by 10. Smart also delivered a familiar theme.
“For us, we understand we’re gonna get everybody’s best game,” he said. “Everything’s gonna be heightened for those guys, everything they do is gonna be with a little more pop than usual. You tip your hat to those guys.”
The Celtics created quality looks for Horford, Tatum and Grant Williams from behind the arc that added to a 7-for-25 slump in the first half. As misses mounted, so did frustration for Tatum after a call he ultimately received driving against Deni Avdija inside. Wes Unseld Jr. tried an early coach’s challenge and won. The Celtics scored on the follow-up play anyways, but Tatum lost a pair of free throws on the drive. Morris stripped Tatum on the next possession, blowing ahead of him in transition for an uncontested layup and a 40-33 Wizards lead.
Smart traded threes with Porzingis to keep Boston within single-digits, then the big man isolated Tatum and frustrated him with another foul call. Corey Kispert, driving in the lane plays later, missed a layup that no Celtics prepared to collect, freeing Kispert to pour his own miss back in. Morris rode another Celtics turnover soon after to a double-digit lead Washington never sacrificed.
“I think that we’ve been trending in the right direction,” Brown said. “It seemed like everything was going right for Washington, everything was going wrong for us, on top of just all the stuff that was happening before the game, but I’m not one to make excuses. Tonight wasn’t a good night. Tonight wasn’t my best night. We’ve gotta hold ourselves accountable. I’ve gotta be better. That’s it. It just wasn’t a normal night I guess. It is what it is.”
Brown said the Celtics travel to Milwaukee with heightened awareness, leaning on their ability to move past losses. They ranked No. 1 on offense and defense over the prior nine games, even accounting for a bad loss in Houston and a last-second defeat to the Jazz. Losses like those, to the Magic three times, at Oklahoma City and against the Pacers in December now loom large as chances one seed fade. Washington seemed to sense Boston wouldn’t arrive to its spots defensively, Avdija raising his arm celebrating a decisive second-half three by Kispert before Porzingis funneled the pass to him from the elbow.
Tatum shook off the possibility that the Celtics might have squandered their chance to pass the Bucks, saying Boston needs to win road playoff games anyway, and did last year, including Game 6 at Milwaukee and Game 7 at Miami. The Bucks’ magic number fell to five, wins or Boston losses, with seven games remaining including, the Pacers and Celtics, 76ers, Bulls and Grizzlies at home, and the Wizards and Raptors on the road. Miami emerged as the statistical favorite to face the Celtics round one earlier in the day.
Shooting struggles like Tuesday’s became more common in the second half of the season, and Smart saw the Celtics responding unenthusiastically toward the alternative offensive outlets.
“It happens, I don’t care if it’s the first game of the season or the last game of the season. It’s the NBA. You’ve got 30 teams,” he said. “For us, it’s about being comfortable with doing the little things, those things that are very tedious, things that are annoying, such as driving the ball even though you’re not making shots. We’ve gotta continue to focus on those, and do those, and enjoy doing those.”
