Wizards playing better despite skid with contending Celtics up next
The Washington Wizards have had a hard time winning basketball games this season. Road victories have been especially rare, as all but five of the team's 16 wins have come at home.
The Wizards can end two lengthy losing streaks when they visit the Boston Celtics on Saturday night. Washington enters that contest on a 10-game losing streak and has lost eight in a row on the road.
Washington's last two wins both came against Indiana, the only team below the Wizards in the Eastern Conference standings. Washington nearly ended its losing streak Thursday, when it overcame a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit before losing to Orlando 136-131 in overtime.
Washington coach Brian Keefe chose to put a positive spin on Thursday's loss.
"The resilliency was terrific tonight," he said. " ... I could probably talk about (how) almost every guy on the roster contributed in a positive way. Guys stepped up when their opportunities were there."
Bilal Coulibaly tossed in a career-high 29 points in the loss, which came one game after Miami's Bam Adebayo scored 83 points during a 150-129 victory over Washington. Coulibaly is averaging 10.8 points per game.
"We scored in a way that was team-like," Keefe said. "Obviously Bilal was terrific, but we did it as a group. We did it as a unit. A lot of guys stepped up."
Boston will be trying to end a losing streak Saturday as well. The Celtics are coming off road losses to San Antonio (125-116) and Oklahoma City (104-102) and haven't lost three in a row since they opened the season with setbacks against Philadelphia, New York and Detroit.
"I thought our effort and toughness was great," Mazzulla said after Thursday's loss to the Thunder. "You play two great teams like that, obviously every possession matters. A couple possessions didn't go our way, that's the difference in the game. It's a difference in the game, but yeah, I thought we played very well. Credit to the guys."
Boston was without Jayson Tatum (Achilles management), Derrick White (knee contusion) and Nikola Vucevic (broken finger) against Oklahoma City. Tatum is averaging 19.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in three games since he returned from offseason surgery. Tatum is slated to play Saturday and White is listed as probable.
Jaylen Brown is averaging a team-high 28.4 points per game for Boston, which is allowing 107.1 points per contest - the fewest in the NBA. He scored 34 points against Oklahoma City. Boston also received 31 points from its four bench players.
"We've just got some young wolves, man," Brown said. "We play inspired basketball. Come out every night and we compete regardless of who's on the floor. We're not afraid of nobody. And we play together and play as a team. I'm proud of my group. I'm proud of our approach to every game. We came out on the road and we put their name to the test."
Rookie Hugo Gonzalez was the best of Boston's bench players. He finished Thursday's game with 11 points, five rebounds and two steals in just under 28 minutes.
Payton Pritchard said the Celtics have proven their roster has good depth.
"We're not learning anything," he said. "You guys have already seen it. They come ready to play and play winning basketball, so it's nothing new. We're almost through the season now, so it's what they do."