Jaylen Brown leads second-half surge to push Celtics past Wizards

Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 108-96 win over the stubborn Washington Wizards in an NBA Cup game Friday night. Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday added 16 points each for the Celtics, who have won three straight overall and are 2-1 in East Group C Cup play. Jordan Poole scored 23 points and Kyle Kuzma added 21 for the Wizards, who have lost 10 straight, nine by double digits.

Malcolm Brogdon finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Washington, which is 0-2 in NBA Cup play. Tatum was 0-for-10 from three-point range and Boston made 11-of-46 attempts, eight below their season average. Jonas Valanciunas had 11 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Washington.



Sam Hauser's driving layup gave the Celtics an 87-82 lead with 8:07 remaining and Jayson Tatum's fadeaway made 89-82 and Washington called time out. Poole's three pulled the Wizards within 91-87 with 4:14 remaining. Boston pushed the lead back to eight before Poole's layup cut the lead to 97-91.

After a Brogdon free throw, Brown's jumper made it 99-92 with 47 seconds left and the Wizards got no closer than within six before Boston pulled away. Washington led by two at halftime and neither team gained a larger advantage until Kuzma's three-pointer gave Washington a 66-63 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The quarter featured six ties and five lead changes before Boston went on a 10-2 run to take a five-point lead, that was cut to three after three quarters.

The Celtics went cold in the second quarter and Washington went on an 18-5 run led by Brogdon's seven points, and Kuzma's jumper gave the Wizards a 45-24 lead with 6:53 left in the half. Three-pointers by Brown and Holiday soon pulled Boston with 45-41. Brown later hit two free throws to tie it and then a floater with 2:37 left to cap a 13-0 run and give Boston a 47-45 lead.

Brown led all scorers with 14 points in the half. Brogdon scored 13. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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