Jayson Tatum scores 50 points as Boston Celtics rout Washington Wizards 118-100 to secure No. 7 seed

With playoff seeding and St. Louis bragging rights on the line, Jayson Tatum came alive in the second half.

Tatum scored 50 points and put the Celtics on back in the second half to earn them a 118-100 win, the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and a couple of potentially valuable extra days off.

It was his fifth game of at least 40 this season and came against his friend and fellow Gateway City product Bradley Beal, who had 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Kemba Walker added 29 points and seven rebounds while Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

As the No. 7 seed, the Celtics will face the Brooklyn Nets in first-round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this weekend. Washington will host Indiana, Thursday.

The Celtics trailed 54-52 after an uneven first half and appeared to get good news when Robert Williams was on the floor to start the third quarter. With 40.6 seconds left in the first half he landed awkwardly. He was slow to get up and headed to the locker room. But Williams, who has been battling turf toe, returned and started the second half. But he asked out 1:11 into the third quarter and didn’t return.

The Celtics announced the injury was a re-aggravation of his turf toe. That left the Celtics with only Tristan Thompson, and Luke Kornet available at center and Kornet didn’t check in until there was 2:42 left in the third. Tacko Fall was a healthy scratch.

Tatum started the half with a 3-point play setting the stage for a 23-point quarter that gave Boston a 90-80 advantage after three. Tatum was 7-for-10 (2-for-3 from behind the arc) from the field and 7-for-7 from the line.

The Celtics moved the ball much better ouf of intermission with nine assists in the third compared to eight in the first half.

Some observations from Boston’s Play-In Tournament win :

The Celtics are good when Tatum gets to the line — Boston is now 7-3 when Tatum shoots at least 10 free throws. He was much more effective going to the basket than he was shooting 3s.

Is it the uniforms? — According to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, the Celtics, who wore their classic home white jerseys came in 12-1. The last time they wore them Tatum scored 60 against San Antonio. He’s averaged 55.5 points in his last two games in those uniforms.

Injury scare — WIth 3:34 left in the second quarter Marcus Smart was slow getting up and hobbled back up the court and then crouched to the floor as the Celtics called time out. Smart briefly went to the locker room, but he came back and stretched and returned to the floor. He finished with seven points and six assists in 35 minutes.

Ish Smith loves playing Boston — In his 11-year NBA career, there are only three teams that Ish Smith averages double figure points again. No astute observer of the Celtics will be surprised to learn one of them is Boston. He had 11 points in his first nine minutes and finished with 17.

Related content:

Celtics injury report: Robert Williams available to play vs. Washington on Tuesday for play-in game

Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on his leadership style and what the All-Star has learned during a trying season

Celtics notebook: Boston gets to push the reset button, St. Louis connection and going up against the triple-double king

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