Celtics feeling good after making play-offs: Tatum

BOSTON • Jayson Tatum erupted for 50 points as the Boston Celtics booked their place in the play-offs on Tuesday with a 118-100 win over the Washington Wizards as the National Basketball Association's (NBA) play-in tournament got under way.

Tatum produced a virtuoso performance to outshine triple-double record-holder Russell Westbrook as the Celtics advanced to a first-round play-off series against the second-seeded Brooklyn Nets.

The Wizards will now host the Indiana Pacers today, with the winner of that game facing a first-round play-off series against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Eastern Conference's top seeds, while the losers will be eliminated.

"This is big," Tatum said. "We wanted to come out and compete. Everybody played well and contributed. We're feeling good about ourselves."

An even first half at the TD Garden saw Washington take a slim 54-52 half-time lead before the Celtics and Tatum upped their level in the third quarter to break the game open.

The Celtics outscored the Wizards 38-26 in the third period and that burst of scoring proved decisive with the Celtics keeping the Wizards at arm's length thereafter as they closed out the win.

The win marked a turnaround in form for Boston, who lost five of their six final regular-season games to drop into the play-in equation.

Tatum had eight rebounds and four assists, while he was a perfect 17 of 17 from the free-throw line. Teammates Kemba Walker had 29 points and Tristan Thompson added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 22 points while Westbrook finished with 20 on what was an off night after making only six of 18 attempts from the field.

Washington must now rally themselves for Indiana, who looked red hot in a 144-117 blowout to eliminate the Charlotte Hornets in Tuesday's earlier play-in game.

Oshae Brissett scored 23 points and Doug McDermott added 21 as the Pacers got off to a fast start and never eased up in a comprehensive wire-to-wire win in Indianapolis.

Domantas Sabonis added 14 points and hauled down 21 rebounds with nine assists.

"I feel like everybody's confidence is the highest it's been all year," said Sabonis, who is one of eight Pacers who finished in double figures. "This is the perfect timing for us."

Miles Bridges scored 23 points to lead the scoring for the Hornets, whose season was brought to an emphatic end with the loss.

Only one win had separated the ninth-placed Pacers from the 10th-ranked Hornets during the regular season, which ended last Sunday.

But a gulf in class was quickly apparent on Tuesday as the Pacers sprinted into a 40-24 lead by the end of the first quarter.

By half-time, Indiana had opened up a 24-point cushion to effectively kill the contest against a strangely subdued Hornets line-up, leading by as much as 32 points in the fourth.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE