The Boston Celtics want to have the best NBA record and be the No. 1 team. 1 seed heading into the playoffs for the Eastern Conference, and the Washington Wizards also have something to play for on Tuesday against Boston.
After losing to Toronto 114-104 on Sunday, the Wizards (33-42) were tied with Indiana for 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Washington still has a slim chance of finishing the regular season with seven games left. No. seeding will be required for the Wizards. 7 to Number 10 to advance to the NBA’s play-in round and were three and a half games behind the No. tenth place going into league play on Monday.
Washington’s eighth loss in its last ten games came against Toronto. The Wizards did not have guard Monte Morris (left groin), forward Kyle Kuzma (right ankle), or guard Bradley Beal (left knee). Beal has been out of the team’s last three games, and Kuzma has been out of the team’s last four.
Beal is the team’s leading scorer with 23.2 points per game and an average of 5.4 assists after playing in 50 games this season. Washington’s No. 1 is Kuzma. 3rd scorer (21.2%).
Jayson Tatum was unable to play in Boston’s 137-93 victory over San Antonio on Sunday due to a hip injury. Tatum drives the Celtics (52-23) in scoring (30.1) and bouncing back (8.9).
Jaylen Brown scored 41 points against the Spurs to fill the void.
Entering Monday’s down against Detroit, Milwaukee had a 1 1/2-game lead over Boston for the lead position in the Eastern Gathering. The Bucks and Celtics have parted a couple of games this season and will meet for the last time during the ordinary season Thursday at Milwaukee.
The Celtics and Wizards will play their third game of the season on Tuesday. On Oct. 30, the Celtics won 112-94 and 130-121, respectively. Boston was the location of both games.
Brown scored the most points for Boston in each game. In the first game, he scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while in the second, he scored 36 points.
