As has been the case in many games this season, the Celtics came out strong out of the gates and built an 18-point lead in the first half against the Wizards, but the visitors controlled play most of the second half, including outscoring the Celtics 32-23 in the fourth quarter to come away with a 106-99 win over the Celtics Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
Avery Bradley had a strong game for the C's with a team-high 26 points. Jared Sullinger and Brandon Bass each recorded double-doubles despite the loss with 22 and 11 points respectively and both pulling down 11 rebounds. Jeff Green added 13 points in the loss. The Celtics are now 12-16 on the year and 6-7 at home.
John Wall led the Wizards with 26 points and nine assists along with Trevor Ariza who had 27 points in the comeback win.
The Celtics will be back in action tomorrow night (6:00, CSNNE) in Indiana when they take on one of the best teams in the NBA in the Pacers.
What they'll be saying: There is no denying the effort the Celtics have put forth in all of their games this season, just unfortunately for them they have blown a few too many double-digit leads this season including Saturday afternoon. Washington got back into the game from three-point range as they finished with eight in the win. The Celtics shot well from the floor, just under 50 percent, but poor shot selection in the fourth quarter was one of the few reasons for the C's collapse. The team has no time to dwell on the loss as they will be back in action just over 24 hours after the loss against the Pacers in head coach Brad Stevens' return to Indiana.
