WASHINGTON, D.C. — New Albany graduate Romeo Langford returned to the lineup Saturday evening, but his Boston Celtics dropped a 115-112 double-overtime decision to the Wizards in Washington.
Playing 18 minutes in his first game since Oct. 22 due to a calf injury, Langford contributed 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the defeat.
Boston shot just 41.1% from the field (44 of 107) and connect on just two of its 26 3-point attempts for 7.7%. Langford was 1 for 3 from the floor and missed both of his 3-point attempts.
Perennial All-Star Bradley Beal had 36 points to pace Washington. Beal gave the Wizards the lead for good when he made a layup with 1:07 to go in the second extra session.
Beal was one of three Wizards to score at least 20 points. Spencer Dinwiddie and former Louisville Cardinal Montrezl Harrell both scored 20. Harrell also had 14 boards.
For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 61 of the team’s 112 points. Brown had 34 on 14-of-24 shooting and Tatum added 27. Tatum also had a career-best 15 boards. Brown’s 3-point attempt to tie the game in the final seconds was blocked by Washington’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Saturday’s defeat was the Celtics’ second double-overtime loss early in the season. They lost at New York 138-134 in two overtimes to open the season. Boston also earned a 140-129 overtime victory at Charlotte on Oct. 25.
“Nobody loves all these overtimes early in the season,” first-year Boston head coach Ime Udoka said. “It’s taking a toll somewhat early.”
Langford and the 2-4 Celtics host the Chicago on Monday with a 7:30 p.m. tip. The Bulls are 5-1 after defeating Utah 107-99 on Saturday evening.
HOUSTON — Romeo Langford and Jaylen Brown both missed Sunday’s Celtics’ game in Houston, but Jayson Tatum scored 31 points to lead five Boston players in double figures in a 107-97 win over the host Rockets.
The win was the first in three games for the Celtics and the first head coaching victory for Ime Udoka.
“I just got a water shower in there from the guys, and the game ball, but I told them, ‘It’s overdue. You guys took too long to get it,’” he said following the victory.
Langford was a late scratch to the game after reporting left calf tightness. Brown, the team’s leading scorer at 27.5 points per game, also missed the win with left patella tendinopathy.
Boston trailed 30-22 after one quarter but took a 2-point lead into the halftime break. The Celtics broke the game open with a 10-0 run run in the third quarter. The game-changing spurt took only 80 seconds.
Tatum had nine rebounds to go with his 31 points. Grant Williams was 6 for 8 from the floor, including 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point arc, for 18 points off the Celtics bench. Boston’s bench outscored the Rockets 31-14.
Al Horford finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 boards and Dennis Schoeder contributed 18 points and five assists to the Celtics’ win.
Rookie Jalen Green led Houston with 30 points.
The Celtics are back in action Monday when they travel to Charlotte to take on the unbeaten Hornets and former Celtics Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier. Langford’s status for Monday’s game is unknown at the time of this publication.
BOSTON — It was a rough home opener for the Boston Celtics, and that included New Albany graduate Romeo Langford.
Langford played 16 minutes, going 2 for 5 from the field for 6 points in the 115-83 loss to visiting Toronto.
The Raptors led 51-47 at halftime before breaking open the game with a 20-3 run late in the second quarter. The Celtics were 1 for 8 with 4 turnovers during the drought.
Langford, who also had a rebound and a steal in the defeat, knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:53 to go in the second period to pull Boston within 37-31. He didn’t score again until Toronto had the game well in hand. His fourth quarter 3 made it 95-77 with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. Langford was 2 for 3 from behind the 3-point arc and is now 4 for 6 from deep through two games.
The Celts shot just 39 percent from the floor (32 of 82) and made just 11 of their 34 3-point attempts. They also had 25 turnovers to just 10 for the Raptors, who had 16 steals in the win.
“We didn’t make any shots,” Boston forward Jayson Tatum said. “They just had a had little more pep in their step the second half.”
Toronto rookie Scottie Barnes led all scorers with 25 points. He also had 13 rebounds. Tatum led Boston with 18 points, 6 rebonds and 4 assists. In his season debut, Al Horford had 11 points and 11 boards for the Celtics.
“I was just happy to get back out there with the group in front of our home crowd here tonight,” Horford said. “I’ll have to continue to get to where I need to be as far as my wind and all that stuff, but I felt fine. (I was) definitely a little tired at times there, but it was just good to be back playing with the group.”
Toronto outscored the Celtics 22-9 on fastbreak points and 28-4 in second-chance points.
Langford and Celtics (0-2) seek their first win of the season Sunday when they go to Houston for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
NEW YORK — Romeo Langford opened his third NBA season with a 10-point performance in the Boston Celtics’ 138-134 loss to the New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
The 2019 Celtics first-round draft pick connected on four of his six field goal attempts, including going 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. Langford also had three rebounds — two on the offensive end — and a steal. He also committed three turnovers and two personal fouls.
Langford entered the game with 5:52 left in the first period and made his first shot of the season — a 3-pointer — with 2:39 left in the first to put Boston ahead 29-23.
The 2018 New Albany graduate started the second period and made the first shot of the quarter on a floater to extend the Celtics’ lead to eight points after they led 35-29 at the end of the opening stanza. Moments later, he made it 43-34 with his second 3.
Langford knocked down a jumper with 4:33 left in the third to put Boston up 76-69 with 4:33 to go in the third. Langford left with 6 minutes to go in regulation and didn’t play the rest of the fourth quarter or overtime.
Boston falls to 0-1 despite Jaylen Brown’s 46-point performance. Former Kentucky star Julius Randle led the Knicks with 35 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. New Knick Evan Fournier, who made the go-ahead jumper with less than a minute left in overtime, added 32 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists.
New York outscored Boston 22-18 in overtime.
“It’s a tough one to give away, especially when you worked your way to get back in it,” first-year Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “But it’s only the first game and so we’ve got to bounce back Friday at home.”
Langford and the Celts are back in action Friday when they host Toronto in their home opener.
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Tommy Luce, the son of Jeffersonville coach Joe Luce, is a junior walk-on for Purdue. Luce, who played his senior year at Jeffersonville, joined The Hoosier Report with Matt Denison on Thursday, in advance of the Boilermakers’ Sweet 16 game in Louisville versus Tennessee.
On Tennessee, the Boilermakers’ Sweet 16 opponent: “They’re very good. I remember last year we met with them in the Bahamas and they beat us in overtime, so we kind of owe them one. We’ve got to respect them because they are a good team and have a lot of good players. We’ve got. to be ready and come out and take it to them.”
On his one year at Jeffersonville High School: “Before I moved to Jeff, I really didn’t know a lot about Southern Indiana basketball because I had never lived in that part of the state. But, as soon as I started coming down in the summer and working out with guys that planned on being on the team, I could tell right away there was a really rich tradition of basketball there, no doubt. It was tough moving from Richmond because we had a successful season and I had lots of friends there and had lived there for so long. But my one year at Jeffersonville was really a special one. I felt like we kind of put Jeff back on track to be a successful basketball program again.”
On the opportunity to be at Purdue and his role as a walk-on: “Big 10 basketball — that’s something you can’t turn down if you’re given the opportunity to be part of that conference and in Division I basketball. I knew I could’ve probably played somewhere (smaller) and had a successful career in college playing a lot of minutes. I actually really enjoy my role of practicing and being part of a really good team. It’s OK that I don’t play, and I would’ve been fine going somewhere smaller. Purdue has definitely been a good experience for me and I’m glad I did it.”
On his celebrity, rock star-like status and 1980s-themed “workout videos” at Purdue: “I really appreciate all the love that I get because it’s really good to feel that support from the Purdue community and from my friends and family that let me know how I do when I get in the game and that they like the videos I do. It’s all fun doing those (workout) videos. It’s really an awesome thing that people appreciate me so much.”
On what Sweet 16 game day will be like for the Boilermakers: “We started off with breakfast and after that, watched a little bit of film. Then we got a little bit of free time. We’ll come back and have a shoot around, and that’ll take about an hour and a half. We’ll get up a bunch of shots and go over a walk through of the other team so we know how to guard them on defense and what type of plays we’ll be able to run against their defense. We’ll come back and watch some more film — we watch a lot of film. It’s definitely a long preparation process. You’ve got to be prepared for (the entire game).”
On his educational focus at Purdue: “My major is organization leadership and supervision, and my minor is communication. I’m working on getting a certificate in entrepreneurship as well.
Tommy Luce, the son of Jeffersonville coach Joe Luce, is a junior walk-on for Purdue. Luce, who played his senior year at Jeffersonville, joined 