Game ID: 22300103
Boston Celtics @ Washington Wizards
Monday, October 30, 2023 at 7:00 PM ET
Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
WAS 19 32 24 32 107BOS 42 35 31 18 126
BOS @ WAS ScoutingBOS @ WAS Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
WAS availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
WAS availability going into 10/28 · 2 days' rest
full strength
WAS availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's rest
full strength
WAS availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Wright 14 to 19 min over the last 3
WAS availability going into 11/03 · 1 day's restOUT Gafford missed 2 since 10/30, returns tonight: 20 min (74% of 26)
NEW Wright 14 to 20 min over the last 4
WAS availability going into 11/06 · 2 days' restOUT Butler missed 2 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 2 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Gafford back 11/03 after 2, 20 min since (74% of 26)
NEW Wright 14 to 19 min over the last 5
WAS availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Butler missed 3 since 11/01, out tonight
OUT Baldwin Jr. missed 3 since 11/01, out tonight
BACK Gafford back 11/03 after 2, 25 min since (94% of 26)
BOS availability going into 10/25 · season opener
full strength
BOS availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
BOS availability going into 10/30 · 2 days' restOUT Queta missed 2 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 3 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restOUT Queta missed 4 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 5 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT White missed 2 since 11/04, returns tonight: 38 min (113% of 33)
OUT Queta missed 6 since 10/25, out tonight
10/25 @ IND 120-143 — WAS notes
WAS lost 120-143. WAS shot 46% (44 of 96) to IND's 52%, 9 of 24 from three, and went to the line 29 times to IND's 12 — 23 points from the stripe to their 11. Kuzma led with 25 (9 of 18, 1 of 4 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Poole added 18, Jones 16. Q1 was theirs, 39-34, but the other 3 periods went 109-81 against them. Gafford's -23 in 21 minutes was the worst on the floor.
10/28 vs MEM 113-106 — WAS notes
WAS won 113-106. WAS shot 43% (40 of 93) to MEM's 43%, 16 of 46 from three, and went to the line 22 times to MEM's 9 — 17 points from the stripe to their 9. WAS turned it over 11 times to MEM's 16. Poole led with 27 (8 of 23, 4 of 12 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Kispert added 22, Kuzma 21. The hinge was Q2, 37-24: a lead of 3 became 16, and the lead reached 25. Poole was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
10/30 vs BOS 107-126 — WAS notes
WAS lost 107-126. WAS shot 45% (39 of 87) to BOS's 50%, 11 of 36 from three, and went to the line 26 times to BOS's 7 — 18 points from the stripe to their 5. The glass went 40-51 against them. Kuzma led with 21 (9 of 15, 3 of 6 from three); Omoruyi added 14, Jones 11. Q4 was theirs, 32-18, the deficit cut from 33 to 19, but the other 3 periods went 108-75 against them. Jones's -31 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/06 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 104, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Embiid at 29 and Maxey at 26 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Morris Sr. (2 straight), House Jr. (2 straight). One day's rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 125, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Kuzma at 23 and Poole at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the defense, Philadelphia allowing 104 a night to Washington's 125 and the glass, where Philadelphia has been plus-4 a night and Washington minus-9. Call it Philadelphia 122, Washington 109, Philadelphia by 13.
11/08 @ CHA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Charlotte comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 124, shooting 48 percent and 31 from three, 25 free throws a game; Rozier at 22 and Hayward at 19 a game. Without Bridges (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 126, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 20 free throws a game; Kuzma at 23 and Poole at 19 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: Charlotte wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Charlotte has been minus-2 a night and Washington minus-9. Call it Charlotte 123, Washington 119, Washington keeping it close.
10/25 @ NYK 108-104 — BOS notes
BOS won 108-104. BOS shot 48% (37 of 77) to NYK's 37%, 12 of 39 from three. Tatum led with 34 (13 of 22, 3 of 8 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Porziņģis added 30, White 12. The hinge was Q1, 30-18: from level to 12 ahead. Porziņģis was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
10/27 vs MIA 119-111 — BOS notes
BOS won 119-111. BOS shot 47% (45 of 95) to MIA's 43%, 16 of 39 from three. The glass went 55-45 for them. White led with 28 (9 of 15, 5 of 7 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Brown added 27, Tatum 22. The hinge was Q4, 32-23: BOS came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 8. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
10/30 @ WAS 126-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 126-107. BOS shot 50% (51 of 102) to WAS's 45%, 19 of 53 from three, and got to the line 7 times to WAS's 26. The glass went 51-40 for them. Brown led with 36 (13 of 24, 8 of 13 from three); Tatum added 33, Porziņģis 15. The hinge was Q1, 42-19: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 37. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
11/06 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 100, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Towns at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 108, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 100 a night to Boston's 108 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Minnesota plus-6. Call it Boston 112, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
11/08 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 106, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 28 free throws a game; Embiid at 34 and Maxey at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without White (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Philadelphia plus-6 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 28 free throws a game to Boston's 23. Call it Philadelphia 117, Boston 115, Boston keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAH A. Horford
DB D. Banton
DW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
LS L. Stevens
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
SM S. Mykhailiuk
WASAG A. Gill
BC B. Coulibaly
CK C. Kispert
DA D. Avdija
DG D. Gallinari
DW D. Wright
EO E. Omoruyi
JB J. Butler
JD J. Davis
JP J. Poole
KK K. Kuzma
PB P. Baldwin Jr.
RR R. Rollins
TJ T. Jones
BOS/WAS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Jaylen Brown scores 36 points as Celtics race past Wizards 126-107
WASHINGTON -- — Jaylen Brown scored 36 points and Jayson Tatum had 33 as the Boston Celtics won their third straight to open the season, cruising past the Washington Wizards 126-107 on Monday night.
It’s the second straight season the Celtics have begun with three straight wins.
Brown was 8 for 13 from 3-point range.
“We’ve got a lot of talent. We’re going to be more talented than a lot of teams,” Brown said. “We just try to take advantage of all of our opportunities.”
Kristaps Porzingis scored 15 points in his return to Washington, where he spent his previous 1 1/2 seasons. Porzingis was traded to Boston in June and scored 30 points in his first game for the Celtics on Wednesday, setting a franchise record for scoring in a debut.
“This was home for a year-and-a-half, so definitely some good, good memories here,” Porzingis said.
Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points for the Wizards (1-2), who trailed throughout and were behind by 26 points after 10 minutes.
“Obviously, first quarter, game over,” Washington coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “We played on our heels most of that quarter.”
Brown scored 16 points in the first quarter as Boston raced to a 42-19 lead. He had 27 points by halftime.
“It’s nights like tonight where it’s easy to take your foot off the gas, but if you want to do what you say you want to do, we’ve got to come out and play the game the right way,” Brown said.
Brown hit his final basket midway through the third quarter as the Celtics built a 37-point lead, and coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters for the final 12 minutes.
“We think it’s something we can control, the way we come out and start games,” Mazzulla said. “We just have too many good players and we have a chance. We’re really trying to make sure we come out with the right mindset the whole game. It doesn’t mean it’s going to go our way. I really liked our approach.”
The last time Boston had more than three straight wins to start a season was in 2009, when it won six in a row.
Tatum scored 17 points in the third quarter. By then, Brown had nearly reached his total for the night.
“He came out aggressive tonight, getting into his spots,” Tatum said. “When you start feeling good about yourself, you get into a rhythm, those tough shots are still tough, but they become a little bit easier.”
Unseld tried everything he could to stop Boston’s onslaught, calling five timeouts in the first 30 minutes.
Wizards center Daniel Gafford missed the game with a sprained left ankle, and rookie Bilal Coulibaly , a first-round draft choice, started for the first time. He had nine points.
“You want to give them credit,” Unseld said. “They’ve got a lot of weapons. That starting unit that we put out tonight hadn’t played one minute in preseason in totality.”
UP NEXT
Celtics: Host Indiana on Wednesday night.
Wizards: At Atlanta on Wednesday night to begin a four-game trip.