The arena was filled with so much Celtic green you might have thought you were at TD Garden. But, it was the streets of downtown Washington DC that were flooded with fans donning Tatum and Brown jerseys, hours before the Celtics-Wizards Sunday evening match-up even tipped off. When the doors finally opened, a sea of Celtics fans inundated Capital One Arena, crowding around the players’ tunnel in hopes of getting an autograph, a wave, or any sort of acknowledgement from one of the stars.
The lack of Wizards fans became even more noticeable when starting lineups were introduced, and the crowd rose to its feet for the Celtics’ introductions, but stayed quiet for the Wizards. That set the tone for the rest of the night; when the Celtics scored, the place erupted, reminiscent of how it would in Boston, just without the support of the in-arena sound effects.
This is a home game for the Celtics lol
Loud cheers when Boston starters are introduce, and complete silence when the Wizards are pic.twitter.com/XxrsH9BaPQ
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzellNBA) March 17, 2024
“It’s becoming the norm in a lot of places we go,” Tatum said of the widespread support from the fans. “You really appreciate the fans — how well we travel, the love and support that they show us, everywhere we go.”
All night long, the in-arena hosts tried to rally the crowd to cheer for the home team, but without much luck. The Wizards fell behind by double-digits early on, trailing by as many as 36, and ultimately fell 130-104 to the red-hot Celtics.
The Celtics came out swinging and never looked back, led by Jayson Tatum, who finished with 30 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in three quarters. Payton Pritchard added 12 points and a career-high 13 assists off the bench, and Luke Kornet and Al Horford each added 14.
Sam Hauser, who hit a career-best 10 of 13 threes, was on pace to break the franchise record of 11 threes before spraining his ankle midway through the third quarter. When he exited, he did so to a passionate ovation from a Capital One Arena Crowd that was in awe of his shooting performance.
Demond McFarland was one of the hundreds of Celtics fans who showed up early to watch the Celtics secure a 5th-straight win and improve their record to a league-best 53-14. A fan since 1984, McFarland made the trip to DC all the way from Rochester, New York.
McFarland said he’s liked what he’s seen from the Celtics, who hold a league-best 53-14 record this season: “I see a hunger in them this year that I haven’t seen in the past years, like that. To me, it seems like they hear the outside noise, and it’s fueling them.”
Like McFarland, 24-year-old Ryan Osborne traveled to DC to support the Celtics. McFarland had a shorter commute – he resides in Richmond, Virginia – but he’s made the trip to DC for this game for ten consecutive years.
“It’s my favorite,” Osborne said. “Every single time, it’s a sea of green, as you can see today. We pack it up, it’s not just because it’s St. Patrick’s Day. We usually take over this arena, it’s the best part of this.”
Joe Mazzulla recognized postgame that, in a way, the skewed atmosphere gives the home team an edge.
“It probably pisses the other team off, and so a little bit of a duality,” Mazzulla said. “You have a responsibility and ownership to the Celtics – at the same time, you have to take on that expectation because you know the other team probably feels some type of way about it.”
Jayson Tatum was initially on the injury report, listed as questionable with an ankle impingement, but ultimately opted to play. It’s become a bit of a running joke within the Celtics fanbase that Tatum will do anything not to sit. After the win, he elaborated on why he chose to play despite the Celtics having such a substantial lead in the standings.
“I don’t like to sit out,” Tatum said. “I understand if I was injured or whatever, but I’ve said it before — I just love to play the game, especially on the road. So many fans out there with Tatum 0 jerseys who came to see me play, so I take pride in making sure I’m available as much as I can.”
The fans in Washington DC were surely glad to see the MVP candidate opted to compete.
