Celtics 118 - Wizards 98: C's dominate Wiz, snap three-game skid

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The Celtics offense couldn't have been any better.

The Wizards fast-paced offense came to halt at TD Garden in a 118-98 Celtics win. Riding high off their win against the Spurs on Wednesday, the Wizards defense couldn't slow down the Celtics. The C's shot 45 percent from the field, outscored their opponent in all four quarters and forced 24 turnovers.

Jared Sullinger's 21 points led five Celtics players in double-figures. Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points, Isaiah Thomas and Evan Turner both had 16 and Jae Crowder racked up 12 along with 10 rebounds and four steals.

Olynyk's big scoring night certainly didn't go unnoticed but neither did the rest of his stat line. Kelly also had seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. He also let his hair down for the first time this season, and after putting together such a great performance he might not be rocking the man-bun hairdo anymore.

"I thought he was aggressive right out of the gate," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said about Olynyk. "We don't need him to be the greatest shooter ever, but we need him to be a threat."

Bradley Beal scored a game-high 24 points for the Wizards. John Wall had 13 points, eight assists but he also committed eight turnovers.

Without Marcus Smart, Thomas and Avery Bradley did an excellent job containing Wall and Beal. They both had two steals for the Celtics and set the tone defensively.

"They took our momentum away," Wall said. "They did a great job of using their hands and pushing the pace. We had a lot of turnovers and we couldn't make shots."

Celtics extended their lead to 30 points (61-31) in the second quarter and for the first time since 2010, the Celtics netted 70 first half points. The Wizards couldn't stop the bleeding in the second half, their offense never found its rhythm. And the Celtics never cooled down offensively -- forcing the Wizards to play catch up all night.

"It was nice to see the ball go into the net," Stevens said. "Multiple guys played well and shot well. And a couple of those guys we need to score for us to be a good team."

The Celtics will have a lengthy break before heading to Milwaukee to face the Bucks next Tuesday night.


Game Notes: 

The Celtics tallied a season-high 18 steals. Crowder (5), Olynyk (4), Thomas (2), Bradley (2), Evan Turner (3), Sullinger (1), David Lee (1).