Wizards at Celtics
THE STORY: The Boston Celtics, finally returning home from an eight-game, 13-day road trip, will attempt to make another run at the Atlantic Division lead. Boston has what looks to be a nice back-to-back on paper when it hosts the Washington Wizards on Sunday before visiting league-worst Charlotte the following night. After blowing a chance to take over the division lead with Friday’s loss in Philadelphia, the Celtics will seek their fourth win over Washington this season.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSW (Washington), CSNE (Boston)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (25-22): Boston's loss to the Sixers was overshadowed by a scary fall taken by swingman Mikael Pietrus, who landed hard on his back and had to be carted off the court while immobilized. The agent for Pietrus said X-rays and CT scans revealed no abnormalities, although the player may have a concussion. It's unclear how long Pietrus will be sidelined. He started Friday's game because Ray Allen (ankle) was unavailable. Guard Avery Bradley (ankle) also sat out.
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (11-36): As evidenced by its record, which is second worst in the league, little has gone well for Washington this season. But the Wizards have developed a particularly bad habit in their past two games, blowing leads of 22 and 16 points, respectively, in losses to Indiana and Atlanta. Nene, in his third start for Washington, had 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks on Saturday. Guard Jordan Crawford put up his fourth straight 20-point game.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Boston PG Rajon Rondo averaged 13.3 assists on the eight-game road trip, reaching double figures in each contest.
2. Washington has dropped the last three decisions to the Celtics by eight, eight and six points.
3. Former Cleveland C Ryan Hollins played three-plus minutes in his Boston debut Friday.