3rd Quarter Report
The Celtics and the Wizards have shown up to the matchup, but their offenses sure haven’t. The Celtics are way out in front with a 91-72 lead over the Wizards.
If the Celtics keep playing like this, they’ll bump their record up to 21-5 in no time. On the other hand, the Wizards will have to make due with a 3-21 record unless they turn things around (and fast).
Who’s Playing
Boston Celtics @ Washington Wizards
Current Records: Boston 20-5, Washington 3-20
How To Watch
- When: Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET
- Where: Capital One Arena — Washington, District of Columbia
- TV: Monumental Sports Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $23.00
What to Know
The Celtics have enjoyed a five-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Washington Wizards will compete for holiday cheer at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday at Capital One Arena. One look at the odds and it’s safe to say the Celtics are not losing any sleep ahead of Sunday’s contest.
Last Thursday, the Celtics got the win against the Pistons by a conclusive 123-99. Boston pushed the score to 93-68 by the end of the third, a deficit Detroit cut but never quite recovered from.
The Celtics relied on the efforts of Payton Pritchard, who dropped a double-double on 27 points and ten assists, and Derrick White, who went 7 for 12 from beyond the arc en route to 23 points plus two steals. That’s the most assists Pritchard has posted since back in April.
The Celtics were working as a unit and finished the game with 34 assists. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now posted at least 25 assists in five consecutive matchups.
Meanwhile, the Wizards traveled a rocky road last season, and unfortunately for them the road hasn’t gotten any smoother so far this season. They took a 115-105 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Cavaliers on Friday. Washington has now taken an ‘L’ in back-to-back games.
The Wizards’ defeat came about despite a quality game from Bilal Coulibaly, who went 10 for 18 en route to 27 points plus six rebounds and five assists. Coulibaly is trending in the right direction considering he’s improved his point production for three straight games.
Boston has been performing well recently as they’ve won 11 of their last 13 games, which provided a nice bump to their 20-5 record this season. As for Washington, their loss dropped their record down to 3-20.
Keep an eye on the arc in Sunday’s match: The Celtics have made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 19 threes per game. It’s a different story for the Wizards, though, as they’ve been averaging only 11.3. Given the Celtics’ sizable advantage in that area, the Wizards will need to find a way to close that gap.
The Celtics were able to grind out a solid victory over the Wizards in their previous matchup back in November, winning 108-96. Do the Celtics have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Wizards turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Odds
Boston is a big 16.5-point favorite against Washington, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Celtics, as the game opened with the Celtics as a 14-point favorite.
The over/under is 230 points.
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Series History
Boston has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Washington.
- Nov 22, 2024 – Boston 108 vs. Washington 96
- Oct 24, 2024 – Boston 122 vs. Washington 102
- Apr 14, 2024 – Boston 132 vs. Washington 122
- Mar 17, 2024 – Boston 130 vs. Washington 104
- Feb 09, 2024 – Boston 133 vs. Washington 129
- Oct 30, 2023 – Boston 126 vs. Washington 107
- Mar 28, 2023 – Washington 130 vs. Boston 111
- Nov 27, 2022 – Boston 130 vs. Washington 121
- Oct 30, 2022 – Boston 112 vs. Washington 94
- Apr 03, 2022 – Boston 144 vs. Washington 102
