BOSTON (AP) - Jayson Tatum made two twisting, driving baskets in the final 15 seconds and finished with 31 points Sunday night, leading the Boston Celtics to a 111-110 comeback victory over the Washington Wizards despite Bradley Beal’s 46 points.
Kemba Walker scored 21 for the Celtics, and Daniel Theis had 20 points and nine rebounds. Boston, which beat Indiana on Friday, has won consecutive games for the first time since late January.
Russell Westbrook had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who had won seven of eight. Davis Bertans added 20 points.
The Wizards led 110-105 after Beal’s driving basket with 47 seconds left before the Celtics sliced it to one on Tatum’s acrobatic shot in the lane with 15 seconds remaining.
Washington then turned the ball over before Tatum’s twisting bucket gave the Celtics a 111-110 edge with 4.7 seconds left.
“I think it’s just a feel for the game,” Tatum said of his clutch shots with players around him. “You use your instincts. I’ve been playing basketball since I was 3 years old.”
“He’s a special talent,” Beal said of Tatum. “He’s an All-Star for a reason.”
Beal got trapped in front of Boston’s bench and fired up a shot that bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
“It was a hard-fought effort by both teams. Somebody had to lose,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “They made big plays. Tatum made big plays.”
Tatum had struggled the previous two games, scoring just nine and 13 points, respectively.
“Just the person he is, I knew he was going to come back strong,” Walker said. “We just needed to get a basket and JT got some unbelievable baskets. That’s the type of player he is.”
Coming off his NBA-leading 10th triple-double on Saturday, Westbrook added four assists.
Boston trailed 106-98 after Westbrook’s 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:58 to go, but Tatum’s fadeaway capped a 7-0 spurt with 1:34 to play.
“It means a lot,” Walker said of the comeback. “Just the way we handled ourselves in the huddle. We showed some poise.”
Robin Lopez then nailed a short hook shot and Beal had a driving basket.
“We should have won that game. We were up five,” Beal said. “We did everything we needed to do to put ourselves in position to win that game.”
Beal’s four-point play made it 95-94 with just over five minutes left. He followed a basket by Walker with a 3-pointer and had a three-point play, making it 101-96 with 3:57 left.
Coming off a victory at home a night earlier against Minnesota, the Wizards took a while to get going, but after an extremely slow start they opened the final quarter with an 11-2 spurt to take their first lead of the game.
The Celtics matched their largest lead of the game on Walker’s 3 from the right wing, giving them a 68-57 edge early in the third quarter, before Beal scored eight of Washington’s points during a 12-2 run over a 5:03 stretch.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Bertans has hit two or more 3s in team-record 16 consecutive games. … Missed their initial eight shots of the game and didn’t get their first basket until Bertans’ 3 just past halfway into the opening quarter.
Celtics: Jaylen Brown missed the game with left knee soreness. Boston coach Brad Stevens said Brown “is very much day to day.” Javonte Green replaced Brown, making his fourth career start and second this season.
POSTER TIME
Tatum, a 6-foot-8 forward, drove the lane around Rui Hachimura and delivered a powerful dunk over the 7-foot Lopez, bringing a boisterous response from the Celtics’ bench.
UP NEXT
Wizards: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, opening a stretch that features seven of eight games at home.
Celtics: Host the Clippers on Tuesday, the third of a four-game homestand. Boston beat the Clippers in Los Angeles on Feb. 5.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Please read our comment policy before commenting.