Jaylen Brown top scored with 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics struggled to a 108-96 win at Washington in the NBA Cup on Friday.
The Celtics moved to 13-8 on the season but still have some work to do in the NBA Cup, where they are in second place at 2-1 in Eastern Conference Group C behind the Atlanta Hawks.
After their celebratory trip to the White House on Thursday, the Celtics trailed by two at half-time, having been 11 points behind at one stage, and it was until late in the fourth quarter that they were able to pull away from the Wizards.
Brown delivered down the stretch, his superb turnaround jumper giving Boston a 99-92 lead and ending Washington’s resistance.
It was far from a vintage Celtics performance, though.
Jayson Tatum, who scored 16 points, was 0-for-10 from 3-point range and Boston shot 42.4% from the floor and 23.9% from 3-point range, equalling their lowest scoring output of the season.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla picked up a technical foul in the second half for remonstrating with the referee but said his emotions had an impact on the game.
“It changed the energy in the arena. Did you feel that? It wasn’t really about energizing the guys, it was more about manipulating the environment. It was just what the environment needed at the time,” said Mazzulla.
The Philadelphia 76ers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 113-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Jared McCain scored 30 points and Tyrese Maxey 26 as the 76ers coped without the injured Joel Embiid and Paul George.
Cameron Johnson top-scored for the Nets with 37 points.
Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points for the Golden State Warriors as they won 112-108 at New Orleans.
A pair of free throws from Draymond Green saw the Warriors over the line.
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