The Boston Celtics cruised to a 124-90 win over the depleted Washington Wizards on Sunday night at TD Garden, recording their 58th win of the season and extending their dominance at home.
With Kristaps Porziņģis and Jayson Tatum sidelined, Luke Kornet made the most of his starting opportunity, tallying 13 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in just 26 minutes.
Veteran forward Al Horford contributed a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards as Boston dominated the glass, posting a season-high 62 rebounds against an undersized Washington front line.
Derrick White led the Celtics in scoring with 19 points, connecting on 5-of-9 from beyond the arc as part of Boston’s 24 made 3-pointers.
The Celtics opened the game with an 8-0 run and never looked back, leading 34-18 after the first quarter and extending the margin to 60-39 by halftime.
By the end of the third quarter, the defending champions led by 36, and none of Boston’s regular starters except Kornet saw the floor in the final frame.
Payton Pritchard led a productive Celtics bench effort with 20 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds, helping the reserves pile up 53 points on the night. Sam Hauser added 18 points and knocked down four triples.
Washington, which entered the night with the NBA’s second-worst record, played without several key players, including Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart, who were both held out.
Justin Champagnie posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, while rookie center Alex Sarr added 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
Jordan Poole chipped in 15 points for Washington, but the team struggled to find rhythm on either end, shooting just 40.7 percent from the field and allowing 46.2 percent from deep.
The Wizards dressed only nine players and had six listed as inactive, while Smart did not play due to coach’s decision.
Smart received a warm reception from the TD Garden crowd when shown on the video board, but was later involved in a heated exchange with a fan behind the Washington bench, prompting arena security to intervene and eject the fan.
The loss dropped Washington to 17-61, with four games left in a season where lottery positioning remains the franchise’s only focus.
Meanwhile, Boston improved to 58-20, remaining 2nd in the Eastern Conference standings behind Cleveland as the playoffs draw closer.
With the game firmly in hand, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla used the opportunity to rest key players and evaluate depth, giving extended minutes to rookies like Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh.
