Jaylen Brown scorches Wizards as Celtics snap losing streak

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Nov 5, 2025

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BOSTON — For the first quarter of Monday night’s game at TD Garden, the Celtics’ offense consisted of Jaylen Brown, and not much else.

Brown poured in 16 first-quarter points, but Boston trailed cellar-dwelling Washington by 14 — an uninspiring start for a team that had just lost at home to the likely lottery-bound Utah Jazz two nights earlier.

Then, reinforcements arrived.

With Brown watching from the bench, his Celtics teammates blitzed the Wizards, scoring 23 of the first 27 points in the second quarter. Boston built a 10-point lead by halftime and broke the game open in the third quarter en route to a much-needed 136-107 rout at TD Garden.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the 4-5 Celtics, who now head to Orlando for two games against the Magic on Friday and Sunday. Washington fell to 1-7.

Brown led all scorers with 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting (2 for 4 from 3-point range; 7 for 9 on free throws) despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter with Boston up big. It was his fifth 30-point outing in nine games since taking over for the injured Jayson Tatum as the Celtics’ No. 1 option.

The Celtics also got an explosive performance from their newest starter, Josh Minott. The 22-year-old scored a career-high 21 points while shooting 8-for-12, hitting three 3-pointers and throwing down four acrobatic dunks — including a pair of transition lobs from Brown and Derrick White, and a third-quarter posterization of Marvin Bagley III.

Center Neemias Queta, Boston’s leader in net rating this season, turned in a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double on 7-of-7 shooting (with five assists, a block and a steal) and was a plus-23 in 24 minutes. White and Payton Pritchard were plus-22 and plus-36, respectively, with White showing some encouraging improvement as a shooter (4 for 8, 2 for 5 from 3) while tallying eight assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

White entered the game shooting a team-worst 31.0% from the field. Pritchard, who’s struggled from the perimeter but excelled in the midrange, scored 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting (2 for 6 from 3).

Brown shot 7 for 11 in the first quarter, and Minott sank both of his 3-point attempts. Those were about the only early positives for the Celtics, who were outscored 37-23 during an unsightly opening frame.

Queta’s two baskets were the only other points Boston scored in the quarter. The Celtics surrendered 13 second-chance points — more than the Wizards, who came in ranked 28th in that metric, were averaging per game this season — and allowed 14 points to Washington’s bench while getting none from their own. And that was with six different Boston bench players seeing action as coach Joe Mazzulla shuffled through several lineup combinations.

The one he sent out to start the second quarter yielded much stronger results. Utilizing a unit of Pritchard, White, Minott, Queta and seldom-used reserve Jordan Walsh, the Celtics ripped off a 23-4 run to flip the game.

Pritchard, who’d been called to the bench early in the game after picking up two quick fouls, hit two 3-pointers during that Celtics onslaught while adding to his growing collection of midrange makes. White also provided two second-quarter 3s, and Walsh delivered his most impactful shift of the season to date.

Ranked last on the Celtics roster in minutes played entering Wednesday, the third-year pro converted a contested layup, had a steal that led to one of White’s triples and pulled down four rebounds, including a tough defensive board that produced a jump ball.

Walsh added a 3-pointer midway through the third quarter as Boston stretched its lead to 20 points, then 25, then 30. He finished as a plus-27 in 24 minutes, by far the best mark of any non-starter.

Overall, the Celtics shot 39.0% from beyond the arc in the win, a major improvement over their season-worst 21.6% showing Monday night against Utah. Minott, 6 for 22 entering Wednesday, went 3 for 6 in the most productive 3-point effort of his career.

Boston played most of the fourth quarter with a small-ball lineup of Anfernee Simons, Hugo Gonzalez, Sam Hauser, Walsh and Minott. Playing time was limited for Queta’s understudies on the big man depth chart; Garza logged just seven minutes and Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher both were healthy DNPs.

The Celtics will look to get back to .500 and improve to 2-0 in NBA Cup play (after their dramatic win at Philadelphia last Friday) when they visit the Magic on Friday.