Tatum and Brown help the Celtics defeat the Wizards 122-102 in their first road game

By IAN NICHOLAS QUILLEN Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Jayson Tatum scored 25 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes and the Boston Celtics cruised to a 122-102 victory over the Washington Wizards on Thursday night.

Jaylen Brown scored 27 points in the Celtics' first road game of the season. Derrick White had 19 and Payton Pritchard added 15, helping the reigning NBA champions extend their winning streak against Washington to five games.

Jordan Poole scored 20 of his 26 points before halftime in the rebuilding Wizards' season opener, and Jonas Valanciunas added 18 in his Washington debut.

After taking their first double-digit lead just before halftime, the Celtics outscored the Wizards 34-19 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.

Takeaways

Celtics: Two games into their title defense, Boston still needs to be seriously pushed with two wins. Tatum did not play in the fourth quarter on Thursday. Brown and White were the last starters, leaving with 8:04 left.

Wizards: With rookies Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington in an extremely young starting lineup, most of the first half was an encouraging performance. But Washington's third-quarter struggles reflected a recurring problem from last season. Carrington's night ended with a possible injury after an awkward fall in the fourth quarter.

Key moment

Boston closed the first half with a 10-1 run, extending its largest lead to date. Tatum hit two 3-pointers, one from each wing, then fed Brown for the second of consecutive layups to give Boston a 64-54 lead.

Key statistics

Washington's starting lineup had an average age of 22.72 years old. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the youngest in the NBA so far this season and the franchise's youngest since the league began registering starters in 1970.

Next

Both play again on Saturday, with Boston traveling to Detroit and the Wizards hosting Cleveland.