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The Boston Celtics suffered an unexpected loss against the Washington Wizards on Tuesday, March 28, losing the game 111-130.
Interestingly, neither of the Celtics All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown ended the game as the top scorer, with that feat going to Kristaps Porzingis, who scored 32 points.
Shortly after the game, Marcus Smart credited Porzingis for a solid performance and spoke of the difficulty Boston had in guarding him.
“It was the best he’s the best he played (against us). He did exactly what he’s supposed to do,” Smart said. “He’s 7’3”, shot over the top of us. You know, in a lot of those battles, he missed those shots. Tonight he didn’t. So you know, tip your hat off to him. 7’3” guy, you can’t teach that, there’s nothing you can teach and nothing you can do to prepare for it. There’s nothing you can train to be 7’3”. You 7’3”. You got to use that. And that’s what he did. He did exactly what he supposed to do.”
Porzingis had 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal to go along with his 32 points courtesy of 66.7% shooting from the field and a stellar 60% conversion rate from beyond the arc.
Kristaps Porzingis Sounds Off on Celtics
Boston has been among the best teams in the NBA this season, yet since returning from the All-Star break, have failed to consistently hit their previous heights. Addressing the media, Porzingis noted how he doesn’t believe the Celtics were able to find their rhythm against Washington, which led to a difficult shooting night.
“We started with good energy, we knock down some shots, and they were missing a lot of shots, a lot of open ones, a lot of good looks for them, they were just missing,” Porzingis said. “And they were just playing uphill the whole game against us. We were rolling. Everything was happening for us. And they were just playing uphill. So took advantage of that, and they had no rhythm offensively.”
The Celtics went 11-of-44 from deep, giving them an appalling 25% conversion rate on their perimeter attempts, despite those shots being almost half of their entire offensive production.
Joe Mazzulla Believes Celtics Gave Game to Wizards
A big issue for the Celtics this season has been slowing down teams who like to attack in transition, and that reared its head again against Washington, which ensured the Celtics would struggle to get a foothold in the game.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla noted after the game how he believed Boston ‘gave them life’ with their poor transition defense as he addressed the media following the loss.
“I think just games like that when; you’re not scoring, but then you’re giving up (points in) transition. It’s just it’s hard to combat. And so when we give them life with our transition defense, it’s hard to kind of stop.”
The Celtics will need to figure out how to stop teams on the break, as their next game will be against the Milwaukee Bucks, who boast one of the most dominant transition scorers in the NBA in the form of Giannis Antetokounmpo.
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