WASHINGTON – Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and the Boston Celtics overcame a bad night from Jayson Tatum to beat the Washington Wizards 108-96 on Friday night in the NBA Cup.

The Celtics improved to 2-1 in this competition’s Eastern Group C with one game remaining. Washington is 0-2 and has lost a total of 10 straight.

The Wizards hung out there in front of a crowd that included recently injured Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. Washington trailed by five in the final minute when Brown hit a high arc jumper to make it 99-92 with 46 seconds left.

Tatum went 0 for 10 from three-point range and scored 16 points, although a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left allowed him to extend his streak to 55 consecutive games with at least 15 points.

Jordan Poole led Washington with 23 points. Neither team shot well from three-point range, with Boston finishing 11 of 46 and the Wizards 7 of 28.

Takeaways

Celtics: Boston was missing Al Horford due to a non-COVID illness, and with Kristaps Porzing also out, it was up to players like Luke Kornet to provide size. Kornet had six points and six rebounds without missing a single shot from the field.

Wizards: Washington outscored Boston 52-30 in the paint, but this was a missed opportunity on a night when the Celtics weren’t at their best.

Key moment

Trailing by six in the fourth, Washington’s Kyle Kuzma broke free but missed a shot from close range. Tatum’s jumper at the other end completed a four-point swing that gave the Celtics a 97-89 lead.

Key stat

Only Luka Doncic (84 games starting Friday) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (61) have longer active 15-point streaks than Tatum.

Next

The Celtics return home on Sunday to play Minnesota. Washington plays at Indiana that same day.

——

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba