WASHINGTON (AP) — Rajon Rondo had 18 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had 24 points and nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics over the winless Washington Wizards 94-86 on Sunday night.

The victory was the Celtics‘ second straight after losing their first three. Washington is 0-4. After losing their opener by six to New Jersey, the Wizards have lost the last three by 47 points.

The Celtics took the lead in the first three minutes and increased the margin to 19 points. Boston led by at least seven throughout the second half.

Washington, which lost five straight to open the 2008-09 season, could match that start Monday in Boston when the teams play again.

John Wall, who was 10 for 37 from the field in Washington’s first three games, was 6-for-13. He had 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

JaVale McGee had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Wizards. Nick Young had 18.

The Celtics took a 30-17 lead early in the second quarter. Paul Pierce, in his second game since returning from a bruised right heel, played the first nine minutes — a few more than coach Doc Rivers envisioned. Rivers previously said he was more worried about Pierce’s conditioning than the heel.

Pierce, who had 12 points in 23 minutes on Friday night, had nine in 28.

After the Wizards cut the deficit to 32-25, Boston went on a 12-2 run to take a 44-27 lead with 3:45 left in the second quarter.

The Celtics led at halftime 51-34. Boston nearly doubled Washington’s shooting percentage in the first half — the Celtics shot 55.6 percent, the Wizards 28.2 percent. Washington missed all nine of its 3-point attempts in the half and finished 2 of 16.

Washington scored seven straight points to cut Boston’s lead to 65-58 with 2:33 remaining in the third quarter, but the Celtics led 73-60 after three.

NOTES: Washington C/F Ronny Turiaf left the game in the third quarter with an injury to his left hand. … Boston played without F/C Chris Wilcox (bruised left shoulder). Rivers said there was a good chance Wilcox would play on Monday night. … Washington assigned C Hamady Ndiaye to Iowa of the NBA D-League. … When Roger Mason checked into the game for the Wizards in the second quarter, the crowd murmured. Mason’s name was inadvertently omitted from the eligible list for Friday’s game in Milwaukee — resulting in Mason’s disqualification.

Copy the Story Link

Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.